Mistletoe Memories
by Salvatoreboys4ever
Summary: Christmas is a time for remembering...reflecting on hellos, first kisses and new romance. It can also be a time of being apart...missing holding the one you love in your arms. It is time for family, love and connection. It can also be time for growth and change. A time for bravery, hope and looking to the future. For Damon and Elena this Christmas, it was all of those things... AU
1. Chapter 1

Part 1 of 5. This was supposed to be my Christmas one shot that got much longer than planned. I hope you enjoy it.

All I Want for Christmas will updated and posted hopefully done within a week yet. Sorry for the delay.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

* * *

Elena stood in the doorway of their house, looking around and making sure she had everything. Passports? Tickets? She felt around in her bag confirming they were both there. She could not afford to forget anything. They would be gone a week and there was no rushing back once they were in the air.

It was still so early in the morning though that it was as dark as night outside and she was running late as it was, yawning and moving far too slowly. She took in the tidy but busy looking space that was her kitchen. The calendar beside the desk had this day circled in bright blue pen. It was finally here and time to go.

"C'mon Mommy! C'mon. I want to see the plane! We need to go!"

Elena looked down as their little girl was trying to pull her out the door. She was whining and grunting at how heavy her mom was. The 4 year old was a mirror image of her daddy, jet black hair that curled at the ends and fiery ice blue eyes. She had the longest dark eyelashes Elena had ever seen. Without a doubt she would be a heart breaker when she was older, that was for sure.

The little girl's bottom lip came out in the most adorable pout and Elena laughed out loud bending down to her level to smooth a lock of her long silky hair behind her ear. "Lily bear, we have plenty of time. Don't worry about anything."

Lily's blue gaze softened and she reached out and gave her mom the biggest hug, her little arms around her neck. "I love you Mommy. Daddy loves us too. Can we go now? I can't wait anymore!"

She was jumping up and down, her frilly pink skirted top twirling around her body. She was wearing pink and purple striped tights underneath and a pink headband in her dark hair. She had insisted on dressing herself but she did really well for an almost 5 year old.

Elena smiled at the bright, excited little girl that was far too awake for so early in the morning. "You bet baby. Do you have everything?" Lily was nodding her dark head and holding the fleecy green camo colored blanket up.

"Blankie, yep. Lumpy...he's right here," she stated holding up her stuffed camel. "You got Daddy's necklace and our pictures? You told me to remind you to bring them."

Elena thought Lily sounded so grown up already. She ran her fingers down the chain around her neck and nodded to Lily before tucking it in under her white camisole and tugging the navy blue long sleeved shirt lower. She slipped her feet into her brown almost knee high boots, pulling them over her skinny dark washed stretchy jeans.

Grabbing her brown leather jacket and twinned a red scarf around her neck, the young mom was ready. She patted her carry on bag. "Pictures album is right here little lady."

Taking her daughter's hand, she swung her bag on her shoulder and pulled along the suitcase with the other. Lily put on her pink fuzzy jacket and brown ugg style boots. She held her own special bag she wanted to bring, stuffing her blankie and camel in it as they closed the door and made their way down the walkway.

The taxi Elena had called was waiting on the street and the man had already gotten out to help them with their luggage. He extended his hand and Elena let go of Lily's to step down carefully onto the road. She passed the gentleman her luggage and he loaded it into the trunk as Elena turned back to Lily and reached for her hands to help her down off the slippery curb. The roads were slick with a fresh sprinkling of frozen rain from last night and the ice coated everything like a sheen of glass.

Elena helped get Lily settled in her seat and maneuvered her way in and closed the door, buckling them both up. The snowflakes started falling as they drove, the flakes getting bigger and thicker, sticking to the windows, revealing their perfectly unique shapes and designs before melting away.

She was pulled back into her memories of the first time she met 'him' as she watched the snow fall, so softly, so silently to the window panes as they drove.

* * *

" _Elena! I told you this was going to be so much fun! C'mon, you get your skates here."_

 _She was trying to think of something to say to somehow get out of this. She hadn't gone skating since she was a kid and the idea of trying it now more than a decade later, terrified her. Her twin sister had said they had come here to see all the hot guys from the military base that was not even a mile away._

" _Okay, okay Kat, just slow down. I am probably going to make such a big fool of myself out there. I mean look at them! All those guys are so..." She could not even finish her sentence, her mouth hanging open as she saw one guy wave and another guy wink at her as she shakily smiled back and fumbled to get her skates on. Pretty? Hot? Handsome? Gorgeous? A myriad of describing words flooded her mind._

 _Kat was yelling at her to just push off and have fun. She disappeared onto the rink and was twirling and skating with ease in circles around some of the younger skaters. Her sister was the pro here, skating all through high school and in competitions, almost making it to Olympic level before she chose to focus on college. She had let it go when two winter Olympic games came and went without her making the team. Katherine said she had other passions she wanted to pursue too, so skating then became a fun hobby for her._

 _Elena however had gone out less times than she could count on one hand after she had been 10 years old. It wasn't for her and she had gotten plenty of bumps and scrapes to prove it. She preferred fixing those bumps and scrapes and had a passion to go into nursing. She had just got in at Jefferson Community College in New York that September and was soaking up everything she was learning and loving it._

 _Clinging to the archway that all the people walked through to get onto the ice, she stepped forward, swinging herself around. She nearly landed on her butt right away, feeling her feet try to slip out from under her._

 _Elena took a step, rearranging her warm red sweater to not have the sleeves keep falling past her hands. She needed her hands to grip something, but past the archway there was nothing but hay bales at various heights, some stacked a few high and some low enough to sit on. They were strung with colorful lights all around, giving the large oval style outdoor rink such a beautiful ambiance. There was another archway on the opposite side of the ice but nothing else to hold onto here._

 _She was ready to give up when she heard her sister calling and motioning her to skate toward her. Elena shut her eyes, cursing her sisters idea of fun and took a deep breath, pushing off. She felt herself falling almost right away and shifted her body to re balance as she kept speeding forward on the ice. She had forgotten how to brake completely and was trying to steer herself more or less toward Kat. Her sister looked like she had already made friends with a few guys skating around her._

 _However just as she had almost gotten to her, one of the guys, a blonde, wrapped his arms around Katherine's waist and pulled her backwards away from where Elena was going. The younger twin yelled at them and then in trying to turn her body, felt herself falling more._

 _Elena was almost to the other side of the ice and going to crash. She called out, trying to warn the people between her and the safety of the hay bales, but it was too late and she had plowed right into someone, taking them down with her as she fell to the ice._

" _I'm so sorry!" Elena called out, mortified that she had crashed into them. The person turned, flipping a head of dark hair, moving the unruly strands away from his face. Her breath caught in her throat, no words coming out, making her look even more ridiculous._

 _He was gorgeous._

 _An easy going smirk graced his full lips. His eyes were like pools of crystal blue ocean and in the moments they stared at each other Elena swore she saw waves crashing in their depths._

 _She was staring, she knew it but could not help it...her palms were flat on his chest as he had caught her careening toward him and yet somehow flipped them so he bore the brunt of their fall, his back on the ice._

 _Elena was leaning over him, seeing every little fleck of color in his eyes as they darkened. He felt strong. She could feel how chiseled he was beneath his thin black shirt. She didn't know if she was dreaming but did not dare blink, in case he disappeared._

 _Things like this... falling into the most handsome man did 'not' happen to her. Guys like this noticed Katherine for her grace, poise and confidence. They looked exactly alike...but Elena was the klutz, the shy one. The one that would rather hide in her room lost in a book, than have an awkward encounter with a hot guy. She had no idea how to talk to him, 'at all'._

 _When it didn't look like anything intelligent or not was coming out of her mouth, he shifted and lifted her up to sit her on the hay bales. His hands were firm and warmed the skin of her midriff even through the sweater. She felt such a rush in her body at his touch and she did not even know his name yet._

" _Hey," the Adonis spoke. "Are you okay?" He dipped his head, gazing right in her eyes, his own such dark blue in the twinkling of the lights around them._

 _She nodded numbly, as she felt her breath catch again as he smoothed her hair from her face, twining it between his fingers to tuck the strands back, that were a tangled mess in front of her eyes. She had partly liked the hair across her face. It gave her a way to hide from him. Anytime he locked his eyes to hers she would drop hers, avoiding how intense everything about him felt._

 _His lips curled at the ends, his own voice held a hint of timidness in its tone. Maybe he was nervous with her too? "Anything broken? Can you move? Can you speak?"_

 _She looked down at her legs all wrapped around his as they sat on the hay bale. She did not think she could move or say anything, but not because she was injured. Her tongue felt three sizes bigger in her mouth. She was so nervous to talk to someone this beautiful. Elena was sure his girlfriend would be along any moment and rip him back out of her world._

 _However no mystery woman came and Elena caught herself sneaking a peek at his ring finger...it was bare. He was young, so was she really expecting to find a ring? She had no idea where her head was at._

 _He looked down, following her line of sight and stretched out his hand, flexing the fingers. "I'm...not with anyone," he confirmed to her silent curiosity, "Are you?"_

 _Elena swallowed the giant lump in her throat and shook her head. Her eyes were down but she heard him sigh. Was he relieved? Happy? She found herself aching to look in his eyes again but she was scared too. He held out his hand, his fingers lightly tracing over the skin of her own hand._

" _I'm Damon..." he breathed out and she felt her fingers tangling with his, almost as if there was force greater than either of them at work in connecting their lives._

" _Elena." She forced her name past her fear and he nodded and whispered her name, as if tasting it on his tongue to see if he liked the flavor._

 _God she was already in love... no wait that was not possible after a few minutes. Lust, it must be just pure carnal lust that someone that attractive was 'actually' talking to her._

" _Elena," he repeated and stood up, his feet steady beneath him and held out his other hand._

 _The music that had been light and cheerful suddenly fell to a low and soft Christmas ballad. 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas' wafted through the air as he stood up in front of her._

" _Dance with me," Damon whispered it as a statement and not even a question. Elena found herself very willing and eager even, letting him pull her to her feet. She felt her heart pounding, as her skates started slipping and she fell into his arms, gripped his leather jacket tight._

 _Damon held her steady, his hands wrapped beneath her arms as he skated slowly backwards, pulling her with him. She felt herself standing more steady, trusting in his firm grip, holding her up. She wavered again, feeling her feet try to slip out from under her and moved to grip his shoulders tight, her body pressed to his._

 _Elena could feel his breath against her cheek, as she clung to him. "Hold on tight Elena, I won't let you fall." He smiled down at her, his bright blue eyes so beautiful in the dim glow of the lights. She looked up, captivated by his gaze as he held her close, skating them backward as the song played such a soft, smooth melody._

 _Just then snow started falling, and Elena looked up to the sky, seeing more and more flakes falling and caught a few with her tongue, as she smiled and giggled. She saw Damon beaming at her, watching her and he opened his mouth to catch some on his tongue too._

 _It was magical, like in one of those books she read about, meeting the perfect guy in such a romantic setting. She could hardly believe it was happening to her..._

* * *

Elena smiled, watching the flakes falling and seeing the bright Christmasy décor all around them as they drove. There were beautiful designed lights, hung across the whole expanse of the highway in swirls and bright colors. They drove under each one as Lily oohed and ahhed at how amazing everything looked. Elena watched her pointing to more and bright decorations and huge, Christmas trees that sat in bunches, in various courtyards along the main street towards the airport.

Lily was practically jumping up and down in her seat, seeing all the sparkling trees around them. She pointed to houses and business' that had bright lights or Santa displays, or manger scenes and glowing blocks in shape of presents all piled up. When the scenery dulled as they made their way further away towards the airport Lily came and snuggled in against her mom, cuddling her little camel tight to her chest.

"Can you just once Mommy?" Lily asked and Elena nodded and dug under the zipper of the stuffed animal and flicked the switch on. Damon's smooth, sweet voice echoed in the car as they drove before Elena flicked it off and Lily nuzzled in, cuddling up to the camel under her chin and her mom at her side.

Elena smoothed the dark strands of her hair back as they drove and ran her fingers across Damon's necklace, feeling the smooth and intricate design. She sighed and saw the signs for the Watertown International Airport just ahead. Lily was quiet, laying against her and Elena thought back to more times when they were still so young and so carefree.

* * *

 _She had gone home that night swooning over how amazing 'he' was and they had already made plans to meet there the next evening._

 _Every day that week Damon met Elena at the ice rink, the last few days he even helped her into her skates and she would hold onto him, letting him steer, trusting him to keep her safe._

 _Sure they had fallen down a few times and laughed and laid down on the ice staring at the sky. But Elena could not remember the last time she had that much fun with anyone before him._

 _Damon had skated her around and around on the ice. She held on tight, feeling a chill one time and felt her body shiver, in her thick navy blue sweater. She had thought it was warm enough without a jacket today._

 _Within seconds her handsome dance partner had shrugged out of his jacket and passed it to her, wrapping her in it before she could protest. He was fine, he insisted when she tried to give it back to him._

 _"I'm good Elena. Really. I have a thick sweater to keep me warm. It's simple. You are cold and I want to help keep you warm." Damon said, not taking no for an answer._

 _She nuzzled into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. "You are keeping me warm, Salvatore."_

 _Yes, she knew his last name. They had talked for hours just sitting on the hay bales till there was no one else around that first night. She had shooed Katherine away without so much as an introduction and Damon friends had all left without him too._

 _Her and Damon had exchanged numbers and he texted her asking her her likes and dislikes and she had replied and asked him more questions about himself all week._

 _He was in the military and lived on the Fort Drum base that was so close by. He wanted to join the army since he was a kid playing cops and robbers. It was his dream to go overseas and help people._

 _They had talked about their childhoods, and school and first loves and hopes, dreams and plans for the future. Elena going into nursing and Damon was leaving at the end of the week for training out in Florida for a few months._

 _They had grown close and Elena could not imagine him being gone from her life tomorrow. It was late Sunday night and his team left first thing Monday morning._

 _He had talked her into skating one more time, knowing that when he got back in a few months, the rink would be too warm and would be closed for the rest of the year. She had slowly been getting better, balancing on her skates. How he talked her into going as many times this week as she had. she had no idea._

 _She told Damon jokingly that he probably was only interested in her because she would cling to him, knowing she could not skate herself. He had laughed and rapidly denied that, saying there were many reasons he liked her. Elena laughed too and pulled him closer. She felt the same way. There were many reasons she liked him too._

 _This last day, she was wearing her leather jacket that was plenty warm for the cooler day. Her soft cream colored toque kept her head warm as the day was chilly enough for mittens too. Her hair fell down her back, in long silky strands that she noticed Damon loved running his fingers through._

 _He passed her a hot chocolate, asking for extra marshmallows, just how she liked it and they sat on the hay bales watching other people skate while Elena leaned into him, resting her back against his chest. He would nuzzle in by her cheek saying how much he would miss her. She nodded, echoing his feelings wondering how she could handle months without him._

 _They stood back up, disposing of their cardboard drink containers and Elena grabbed for his hands, tucking her mittens in her pockets. She pushed off, him still skating backwards as she led him using her momentum to move them across the ice. She was smiling and laughing, so proud that she wasn't falling and he was beaming at her, very obviously impressed._

 _They were almost to the other side of the ice when Elena felt her foot slip out from under her and she grabbed hard at him to steady herself. But he slipped at her weight coming down so fast too and they landed in a tangle of limbs, sliding right underneath the archway._

 _Damon's weight was on her, his whole body pressed to hers as he gazed down at her. They both started laughing at the same moment and Elena looked up into his gorgeous face leaning down to hers. His arms were bent at the elbows, keep most of his weight off her as his hands moved to cup her face._

 _Laughter faded as Elena felt the intensity of this moment. She blinked once, then twice seeing a sprig of mistletoe dangling from the archway above them. She motioned him to look and he did, his eyes dilated even more when he leaned back over her._

 _She nodded at his silent question, seeing his heated gaze locked to hers. The ice blue of his eyes looked darker, like night, as his eyes fell from hers to study her lips. Elena's heart was racing as he leaned in and she closed her eyes to the crashing of his open mouth on hers._

 _This wasn't soft and sweet, no this was all out war. She had fantasized about kissing him for days already and could not believe it was really happening._

 _Elena opened her mouth to his seeking tongue, tasting him, reveling in him, feeling his hands caressing her cheeks. Her own palms slid around his body, under his black leather jacket to feel his rock hard abs through his long sleeved button down as they were pressed so closely, her body under him._

 _She had no idea how long they had kissed like that, unaware of anyone nearby, smiling at the whistles of strangers skating around them. Elena gave herself over to the feeling of security she felt in his arms and the passion of his kisses._

 _When she finally opened her eyes, he had pulled her up and she was straddling his lap on the ice, just under the archway. Her voice was shaking, her breath so fast. "Wow..." she whimpered, pulling back to see the sky blue eyes so dark, his whole being vulnerable and open._

 _Damon's lips curled up in a slow smile as he had her wrapped so tightly in his arms. "Wow, is right…" he breathed out, his warm breath visible in the cold air._

* * *

"Wow! Mommy look at all the big planes! They are so close!" Lily was jumping in her seat again as she pointed to a plane that had just flown overhead and roared past them to land on the runways behind the buildings.

Elena shook her head and pulled herself back to the present as she nodded and smiled at their daughter's excitement. She had never been on a plane before and Elena knew that exuberance could change to being scared soon enough.

Mentally checking her bags once more, she hoped that they had remembered everything. She had packed gum for the air pressure and bought Lily a whole case of Disney books that she could listen to on her own while they were up in the air. She had her camo blanket and Lumpy, and some coloring books and new crayons and a few snacks, so Elena had hoped that was all it would take to keep Lily calm on the flight.

The taxi stopped at the curb and she paid him along with a nice tip and they got out. Lily was very obedient and stayed right by Elena's side as they unloaded their bags. Elena stacked them up together so she would only have to pull the larger suitcase. Tossing Lily's carry on bag on her other shoulder, she grabbed her daughter's hand and led her into the terminal.

It was busy being so close to Christmas. People were everywhere, running, yelling, checking watches, getting tickets and loading bags. Lily was pointing upstairs to the play structure that was visible from the main floor. Anytime Lily and her were waiting for Damon to come home, she would love racing down the slides, up the ropes and climbing in the cages to pass the time. Often flights were delayed by weather or otherwise and it gave Elena time to relax and mentally prepare for all the changes of having him home.

They got their tickets, checked their suitcase and Elena helped Lily carry her bag, while swinging her own carry on onto her other shoulder. Security was quick and in no time Lily was laughing and playing tag with the other kids at the play area.

Elena fell into one of the seats, where she could see Lily when she came out the big covered red slide and onto the soft mats that surrounded the whole area. Lily had thrown her big pink jacket on her mom's lap as she kicked off her boots to run and play.

"Stay close Lily bean. Mommy needs to see you at all times."

The little girls head bobbed up and down. "Yes Momma, I will."

Elena would have loved to close her eyes and rest a bit. She had not gotten much sleep last night. This whole trip had been so exciting and yet she was nervous too. Flying like this would be a first. She had not flown anywhere since before Lily and only came to airports to greet Damon coming home.

A woman leaned over and smiled at Elena and nodded a greeting. Elena politely smiled back, unzipping her leather jacket and moved to watch Lily who had been climbing the cargo net now, her fluffy skirt swishing around her as she moved.

"How far along are you?" the woman asked, smiling more at Elena.

Elena spread her palm over her belly, rubbing it just slightly, feeling the familiar kicks and stretching of the baby within her. "Almost 6 months," she replied to the other mother. She was showing a lot more with this one than their first. She had literally popped at 3 months and just kept climbing since then. Even not eating as much these last few weeks had not curbed her weight that was steadily increasing.

The other mom looked like she was going to ask another question when she suddenly jumped up calling for her child to wait his turn at the top of the slide. She had walked forward a bit and then when her son stepped back she moved to sit back down.

Elena had slipped her ear buds in by then and hoped the woman wouldn't try to to talk more. She was nervous flying in her 2nd trimester and hoped everything would go well and didn't really feel like any kind of small talk right now.

Lily laughed and played, running and tagging the other kids all while holding her little camel tight in her hand.

Damon had come back from Afghanistan with it after his first tour and she had been overjoyed at the soft, squishy, stuffed camel. Lumpy went everywhere with her and she slept with him every night. Elena had even stitched a fabric picture of the three of them laying on the ice at the ice rink they met at on Lumpy's body so Daddy was always with her, even when he was half a world away.

Elena stood up, seeing the time on the huge wall clock ahead of them. "Time to go Little bean!" The whines and complaints of the little girl just wanting a few more minutes were shushed by Elena saying it was time to go on the big plane! Lily also made a face at the nickname Damon loved so much, calling her a little bean since that was one of the ways he described her size when she was still in her mom's tummy.

Lily came running and slipped on her boots and jacket. "Why am I still Little bean? I thought the baby in your tummy would be Little bean now that I am so big." Lily looked totally serious and very scoldingly at her mom. "I am almost 5 Momma. Tomorrow I'm 5. I am not little anymore!"

Elena laughed and smoothed Lily's hair back. "You are right, my very big girl. You 'are' almost 5 and we can call the baby Little bean if you want."

Lily was nodding and smiling and moved to give her little sister or brother a hug before helping her mom up from her seat and they walked hand in hand to their gate.

A huge wall of windows appeared around the next corner and Elena nodded to Lily's asking to go closer. The little girl ran ahead, her raven hair swishing behind her. Tiny fingers pressed themselves to the window as Lily's eyes were so huge, watching the planes coming in and taking off as Elena met her at the window before moving them to stand in line.

The woman took their tickets and ushered them on through the door. Elena had gotten a window seat for Lily and tucked her bag up in the overhead storage. She unzipped her own carry on and ran her fingers across the smooth fabric she tucked in the front pocket and closed her eyes for just a moment before turning back and sitting down.

She buckled them both up and soon the plane was taxiing for takeoff. Lily was more excited than scared and held onto Lumpy and her moms hand tight as she watched the ground rush away, leaving them gliding over the thousands of lights below.

Lily seemed to have exhausted herself and snuggled into her camo blanket and started listening to one of the Disney books while flipping each page.

Elena watched her for a few minutes before picking up a magazine and flipping through it. She paused at a picture of a man and woman under an archway, kissing and closed her eyes…

* * *

 **This story is complete already and I will post the other chapters every few days, so watch for updates!**

 **Please take a minute and let me know what you thought of the beginning.**

 **Have a safe and happy weekend.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Elena felt his lips on hers, the softness of his touch and the new-found feeling of a ring on her finger! She pulled back from the warmth of his body against hers and stared at the sparkling diamond, letting the light catch it._

 _He has asked her to marry him! She was engaged!_

" _I love you so much Damon," she moaned into the kiss._

" _Mmm, I love you too...Mrs. soon to be Salvatore..." he whispered, grinning and tangling his tongue with hers._

 _Elena loved the sound of that and pulled him closer, capturing his soft lips again before she started jumping up and down in his arms. She was in awe that she could be this happy. It felt surreal. She pulled him down to the hay bale beside the archway, kissing him deeply...the very same archway where they had shared their first kiss._

 _Damon had laughed and fallen down on top of her as she dragged him with her. Their lips crashed together again as she lay in his arms, holding him closer while still seeing her ring sparkling on her_ finger.

 _The ring had been dangling from the mistletoe in the center of the archway and Damon had taken her skating there exactly a year after they met. It was a chilly day then too with them both in leather jackets and fuzzy warm sweaters, scarves and mittens. Damon had asked her to meet him there and gotten her skates on. They laughed and joked about Elena being just as bad at skating this year as when they met and she said she had been practicing._

" _Without me?" He had given her his world class pouty face and she had tangled her fingers in his hair as he had been knelt down in front of her, tying her laces up._

 _She nodded, licking her lips at him. "Yes baby, Kat has actually been patient with me and tried to give me a few lessons. I am still pretty shaky on my feet but I am trying."_

 _Damon smiled and leaned into her touch on his cheek and turned his head to press a kiss to her palm. In no time he had her up and she was skating! No hand holds and no falling for at least the first few minutes and he was impressed, she could tell. She flew back into his arms at the edge of the rink after skating a full circle around without falling!_

 _Damon had said he had gotten it all reserved just for them for the night. She had been curious and even more so when he got out a bottle of champagne and said they needed to toast to a year of being together. The glasses clinked, foam dripping from the side of the bottle as she beamed at him as they sat together._

 _After the drinks, he held up his scarf and tied it around her eyes. "No peeking love," he breathed against her cheek._

 _She nodded eagerly, excited for the surprise. Elena leaned in, stealing a kiss while he was busy tying the scarf. His hands slid between the strands of her hair and she whimpered as he moved in closer, his body knelt between her legs as they kissed long and leisurely, tasting and reveling in each other. She loved him so much._

 _Damon finally drew back from her lips, gently pulling her to her feet. He guided them back onto the ice and spun her in a few circles so she had no idea which direction was what. Then he led her, skating them around the rink, his hold firm and secure around her waist._

 _When he slid to a stop he let his black scarf fall from her eyes. She opened them and he said to look up. Elena saw they were under the archway again and there hung a gorgeous ring from the_ mistletoe!

 _She had gasped and looked back at his huge goofy grin. He untangled the ring from the greenery and knelt to one knee right there on the ice. The brunette almost slipped then and would have landed ungracefully on her ass at such a romantic moment, however Damon steadied her with his other hand as he held out the ring._

" _Marry me Elena. Be my everything, forever. I think I loved you the second you crashed into me that night, right here on the ice. But getting to know you more and more I realized I want to love you for the rest of our lives. I want to have babies with you and watch them grow up and have families of their own."_

 _He was still on his knee as he looked up so achingly sweet into her already teary eyes._

" _I love you and I want to grow old with you and experience all of what life throws at as, good or bad. I want it with you and.."_

 _He paused and wiped his hand across his face and Elena saw he was emotional too. That made her even more is awe of this moment and tears started slipping down her face. She was already so eager to say yes but she knew he needed to say this and she wanted to give Damon everything he ever dreamed of._

" _I don't care where we end up, or how successful we are in our careers. I just want to be able to love you and show you how much, till I breath my last." He wiped his face again and held out the ring, his own hand shaking. She grabbed for it to steady him._

 _Elena nodded, words totally escaping her for a moment as she held out her other hand. "Damon, yes. Yes, yes, yes I will marry you!" She was nearly jumping up and down and forgot she was still in skates and grabbed for the archway to stay upright._

 _His raven head bent, his lips so warm on the skin of her hand, kissing down her finger before slipping the ring on. She had tried to kneel down too to kiss him, but ended up slipping._

 _Damon caught her and they fell laughing to the ice as she screamed. "I'm engaged!" she cried out even though there wasn't a soul around, except the two of them._

 _He dove in, swallowing her screams with his lips. Damon pulled on the ends of his scarf around her neck, bringing her to him and they lay kissing on the ice. Blissfully happy and so, so in love and excited for the future._

* * *

Elena turned back to look at their daughter. Lily was fast asleep, her hand still ready to turn the next page in her Little Mermaid book. She was the most excited to see Ariel and all her friends. That had been her favorite movie for a year now and she loved anything to do with Ariel.

The plane was shifting slightly back and forth as Elena tucked Lily in under her blanket. They could move around and unbuckle but Elena preferred to stay put, her seat between her daughter and the window, knowing she was safe. Her eyes started closing too, knowing they would be in the air awhile yet.

The sun was just peeking up over the horizon, casting such a colorful glow. She closed the window a bit, to keep it darker and laid back, feeling so sleepy herself. Elena cradled her belly, feeling the slight kicks and laid her head down on the seat above Lily's.

The lack of sleep was catching up with her and she closed her eyes thinking back to more happy moments, more laughter and romance, before all the busyness of parenting. Back when they had promised each other forever in front of all their family and friends...

* * *

 _Damon and Elena were married a few months later on the most beautiful sunny May afternoon. The flowers were blooming, the birds singing, the romantic music drifting through the air. They decided to make the location even more meaningful and got married there too._

 _In spring the ice rink was nothing but hay bales, strung with lights, all pure white at Elena's request for their wedding. The tiny bulbs cast such a romantic glow. They decorated the archway in a sea of fresh colorful flowers, red, pink and white roses, lily's and iris' and more greenery._

 _Elena made sure there was one sprig of mistletoe hung in remembrance of their first kiss._

 _The chairs were white and lined the aisle with more flowers. They stood under the archway, saying their vows and exchanging their rings, promising each other forever together._

 _Elena chose a simple strapless white dress that hung in soft waves of shiny fabric down to her feet. She had her hair down, falling in soft waves across her back. A diamond and pink gemstone wrapped headpiece encircling her head, the simple sheer veil attached at the back. She wore a soft pink necklace with matching earrings and bracelet her mom had given her as a gift._

 _Katherine was the maid of honor and two of her close friends, Carolyn and Bonnie both whom she met in nursing school were bridesmaids. They were all dressed in soft pink strapless, silk dresses and carried bouquets of red, white and pink roses._

 _Damon was dashing in the black suit with brilliant white vest and shirt. His brother Stefan was his best man along with two other friends and fellow teammates in the army Ric and Enzo were his groomsman. The men wore pink roses and Damon's rose was red._

 _Stefan was in the army too and he had been the reason Damon was even at that ice rink that night and prided himself in helping his brother find his soul mate. Said brother looked to be making eyes at the maid of honor too and the elder Salvatore was curious if another love connection had been brought to life._

 _Damon froze, seeing his beautiful bride walking toward him and suddenly nothing else mattered._

 _Nothing but her._

 _Elena walked down the aisle carrying a full bouquet of red roses, tied with a pink ribbon hanging down. She smiled at her groom, meeting his eyes as she started to walk toward him._

 _It was as if everyone else melted away in that moment._

 _All she saw was him._

 _His gorgeous smile back at her. His crystal blue eyes sparkling. His pure joy that this day had finally come. His warm hand took hers as she stepped up under the archway beside him._

 _When they came to the part where he kisses the bride, Elena gently pulled the sprig of mistletoe out from where it hung and held it up over the two of them, her eyes dancing with excitement._

 _He met her lips, his own hands cradling her face as they kissed to the clapping of the guests as they stood. They parted, beaming at each other, leaning their foreheads together before the newly married couple raced down the aisle to the sound of romantic music in their ears._

 _The ice rink became the dance floor, a little stage made up for the band and tables all around for first the meal and then the dancing. Damon twirled her around in his arms, holding her close as she laid her head on his chest and swayed to the music._

 _Their first dance was to 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas' even though it was May. They didn't care. It was their song, to hell with playing Christmas songs almost in summer!_

 _They hugged everyone goodbye saying huge thank yous all around for such an amazing day. Family was welcoming and her mom hugging her groom tight with tears in her eyes, her dad offering Damon a firm handshake and a hug. His parents held her close too, saying they were so happy they found each other and everyone said to have a great honeymoon._

* * *

 _The door of their suite slammed shut behind him as Damon had carried her across the threshold and kicked it closed with his foot. He stumbled them toward the bed as she was tugging his shirt out from his pants while kissing him hungrily. They fell onto the bed, kissing and panting for breath, Elena kicking off her white high heels. Damon started unzipping her dress as she moaned while she went for the zipper of his dress pants, yanking it down and tugging his pants down his hips._

" _God, Elena," he rasped, his voice shaky. He looked up, his ice blue gaze searing through her before his lips crashed back onto hers. He got the zipper all the way down, and she wriggled out of the silky fabric till it pooled at her bare feet enough for her to kick it to the floor. Damon carefully took her diamond studded crown and veil out of her hair and tossed it aside too, burying his fingers in her silky tresses._

 _Elena got his shirt unbuttoned and pulled it off his shoulders, while still kissing him every second she could reach his lips. She pulled his head down, tugging at the dark raven strands of his hair as her lace clad hips grinded into his._

 _He whimpered into the kiss and fell onto her, snaking his hand behind her back enough to pop the clasp of her bra. He threw the offending item across the room and kissed down her throat, sucking her skin in his mouth, laving her pulse point with his tongue._

" _Mmmm, Damon," she moaned, throwing her head back, her fingers tugging at his hair. "I love you SO much."_

 _He lifted his head, his hair falling in unruly strands onto his forehead, taking in how beautiful she was beneath him. He bent to pull her bottom lip in his mouth. "I love you too. So, so much baby girl," he whispered against her lips._

 _Elena tore the dress shirt down his back, exposing the hard muscles under it to her probing fingers as he shook his arms free of the sleeves. She ran her hands up and down his bare back as they kissed ravenously, tasting, needing, aching for every part of each other. He was hurrying to shimmy out of the dress pants and pulled his boxers down at the same time, kicking off his shoes and socks as fast as he could._

 _Damon stood up enough to toss his clothes to the side and the knelt at the side of the bed seeing the sexy little lace garter on her thigh. With a wink and wiggle of his brows, he tugged it down her leg with his teeth and threw it to the floor. His hands had glided up her hips and skimmed her lace panties down her legs in the same movement before he dove back down, finding her lips again._

 _They kissed long and wet, open mouthed moans and whimpers piercing the air. Elena's head was back as his mouth blazed a trail down her skin, taking a nipple in his mouth as she cried out his name. He laid between her spread thighs and nudged her opening. She was more than ready for him._

" _Damon, please..." she begged, pulling on his waist, rubbing herself up along his rock hard length, teasing him with her wetness. He plunged in, cradling her head in his hands and rocked his hips back and forth as she panted under him._

" _Elena," he gasped out, his head falling to the bed above her shoulder. "God, you feel so good." He kissed and licked up her neck as he pushed in and out of her warmth. He spun them so she was on top, her lips and tongue sucked on his shoulder, kissed along his chest and up his neck. He held her hips tight, his palms around her curves as he thrust more into her before spinning her again under him, tangling them in the silky white sheets._

 _They came to an earth shattering climax, calling each others names before Damon's head fell to lay beside hers. She turned enough to kiss him, his lips trembling as she tasted his moans of her name._

" _I love you so much Elena. God, I can't even describe how much," he groaned against her salty tasting skin._

 _Elena smiled, kissing a path from his jaw to his lips. "I think you did a great job describing how much baby. I love you too, forever." They nuzzled in, Damon rolled over for her to lay against his chest and they fell into a blissful sleep._

* * *

"I love you too...so much Damon," Elena mumbled to herself, her fingers tangling in his necklace. She pulled it out from her camisole and kissed the metal before tucking it back in. She didn't know when she had woken up from dreaming of him, to replaying their wedding night in her head.

It had been incredible, every moment. Every day of their honeymoon they spent more time in their room than anywhere else. Maui was beautiful Elena realized, but they saw more of it from their hotel window. They would just have to go back again another time. A second honeymoon would be amazing, she had thought then.

Elena glanced down to see Lily still fast asleep. The little girl only started to open her eyes once they were coming in to land. She held her mom's hand and was so brave. Her camel was tight against her chest and she was so excited when she could see the other planes from her window as they taxied into the terminal.

They had made it. Halfway there. Everything would be easier once they got there. Elena was glad to stretch her legs now and realized she was probably almost waddling already as they made their way down to their gate. There was a layover here in Nashville International for a few hours before they boarded their plane to Florida.

Lily was pulling on her mom and already looking for another play structure. Elena knew it was very much in her best interest to find one, so that her big girl could get out some much needed energy so she could relax on the last leg of their journey. Traveling with a little child was proving busy enough on top of being pregnant too. She hadn't felt any nausea the whole plane ride so far but now Elena could feel her stomach flipping.

Her held Lily's hand tight as they made there way to the nearest bathroom and Elena raced into the family one, pulling her daughter in with her.

"Stay right here baby. Mommy is not feeling well but I need you to stay right here against this wall." She had closed the over sized stall and firmly set Lily against the wall away from the door and she fell to her knees by the toilet.

The bags from her shoulders dropped as she gagged and threw up most of her last meal. There had not been a meal on the short flight from New York to Tennessee but even the snack and juice she had before, was coming up.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Lily asked moving closer. Elena was leaning her head to her arm over the seat and gagged more.

"Just stay right there sweetie. Your baby brother or sister is not happy." Elena saw the fear in the little girls eyes fade as Lily stretched out her hand and rubbed her mommy's back.

"Oh, you mean they didn't like the airplane Momma?" Elena nodded yes that was probably very true. But her morning sickness did not just stay in the mornings or even only in the first 3 months. This baby was determined to show her a more rocky journey than their big sister had been.

She thought back to not even knowing if they would be able to have a baby…

* * *

 _The years felt like they went quickly. Damon had training in Florida when they were still dating and now they had moved to Texas for a few years before moving back to New York. Elena had done well in her schooling and gotten a job at a nearby hospital close to both bases and never had a problem finding another job if they moved._

 _He had been sent on one tour roughly a year after their wedding and quickly became the go to guy with his team to disassemble I.E.D.'s. He worked for most months in the year overseas and was home only a few weeks either in summer or over Christmas. Elena was kept busy by her job or she would have missed him much more._

 _There was always a whirlwind of celebration when Damon got home. He would hold her like she had imagined and dreamed about for months at a time. They would talk on Skype and write letters often when he was away, just to feel closer to each other, but nothing felt better than having him back in her arms after so long._

 _His brother had been showing interest in her sister at their wedding already and unbeknownst to anyone, the couple started dating that summer and were married the year after. The wedding was just a few short weeks from when they both served their first tour._

 _Stefan was a quick study on the explosives and they worked as a team with Ric and Enzo who they had met on the army base that first year and saved hundreds of lives. If he wasn't overseas, Damon was training, learning and becoming the best bomb team leader in the army._

 _They had only started trying for a baby after their second anniversary. He had a year when he was working right from the base and could be home every night and so they decided to try to get pregnant._

 _Damon had found her one night laying on the ice at 'their' rink. She had thought he was fast asleep but he must have noticed her side of the bed empty and followed her. It wasn't much of a surprise for him to find her there. She came there at any season, to think or to be alone. It was almost spring and they had been trying for a baby for almost a year with no luck so far._

 _He stepped onto the ice with his boots. It was almost time for skating season to be over. Her husband saw her laying in the middle of the ice and she had thought ahead this time and brought a blanket to lay on in the middle of the night. He moved closer and laid down beside her. Elena remembered him opening his arms, and her nuzzling in on his shoulder. Her arm went over his body, pulling him close as they stared up at the sky._

 _She knew barely a word had been spoken that night but they both knew what they were thinking. Damon had just gotten word his detachment was leaving after the weekend for another tour. She had him home a full year and did not know how she could possibly let him go for so long again. He knew she was scared and how much she had wanted to be pregnant by now to have a piece of him stay with her while he was gone._

 _Damon knew it was a constant worry to her too that he was always so close to the explosives and yet had such a talent for dismantling them. He was doing what he dreamed, saving lives and she could not be more proud._

 _But that night they just laid there in silence, clinging to each other knowing they could not stop what was coming. Not unless they both ran away from their responsibilities._

 _He took a picture of them snuggled up on the ice and had it developed so he could take it with him. She lay in his arms, on the blanket just watching the stars twinkling in the night sky._

 _Once they both were too cold, he stood up and helped her up. She leaned into his chest, her fingers clinging to the edges of his leather jacket. They still had not said anything but they needed this time._

 _Damon had walked them home, the blanket around them both, shielding her from the cold and picked her up in his arms as they stepped through the door and kissed her deeply. He held Elena up in his arms, pushing her against the closed door and kissed her all over. He slowly peeled her jacket, shirt and pants off her, tugging off her boots. They kissed passionately, with moans and whimpers of pleasure._

 _Falling to the floor, they undressed each other fully and he made love to his wife on the blanket in their living room. He whispered promises and declarations of love as he kissed her and had her crying out his name as he held her as close as he could._

 _Elena cradling him within her...staying molded together as long as they could...was everything she needed right then. They fell asleep like that, wrapped in each others arms and woke up to the bright light of the sun shining in the windows._

* * *

 ** _I will post part 3 in a few days, sooner possibly. Its great seeing people are enjoying this little story. It is very much a memory story but I encourage you to hang on till the end to understand it. Thanks and please review!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**I will be posting the rest of this story today, so watch for other updates after this one. I thought it was the right thing to split it up since it was in total over 23,000 words. Carol suggested it too to get more response to separate it.**

 **But I am seeing that its not working and people worrying about where Damon is are missing a lot of the rest of the story. So please read it till the end. I guess I should have posted it all at once in the first place.**

* * *

Elena had gotten cleaned up and out of the bathroom making sure Lily went potty too. Lugging the bags back on her shoulders she took her daughter's hand and went to ask the nearest staff member where the kids area was. The kind older woman points ahead and says its not far and just up the stairs across from the cafe.

Lily was pulling on her mom wanting to hurry and she got her daughter an apple juice and her a ginger ale to sooth her spinning stomach and they sit at the table and watch the other kids play. Lily was done and up running to play too in mere minutes as Elena leaned back and watched her and holds onto Lumpy and her bag and blanket up over her arm.

* * *

 _Elena remembers kissing Damon at the airport the next Monday morning. He held her so close and she breathed him in. Kat is with her at the terminal saying goodbye to Stefan at the same time. Elena thinks it must be pretty rare for two brothers to fall for two sisters, twin sisters even, but that was their life. She is really glad the guys have each others back out there and Kat and her have gotten closer too, both understanding being military spouses so well._

 _Elena takes the chain off her neck and he bends his head for her to put his dog tags back around him, kissing the metal as she gazes tearfully in his eyes. He lets her wear them anytime he is home and she said even when he was working on the base it made her feel closer to him._

 _They hug, their bodies molded together like two puzzle pieces, her arms around him under his leather jacket before he slips it onto her shoulders. She keeps his jacket when hes overseas and gives it back when he comes back. It had been their tradition since his first tour._

 _And...it turned out they did get pregnant on that quiet night just before he left! She was overjoyed and remembers getting him on Skype a month later and holding up the stick._

" _We're pregnant Damon! I'm finally having your baby!" Elena squealed and Damon's face lit up like it was Christmas all over again. His eyes shone with happiness as she beamed at him._

" _Oh wow Elena, that is amazing! I'm gonna be a dad..." It looked like at first he was just letting the sentence sink in. And then his eyes widened, the blue in them so bright as she saw him really take it in, saying it again. "I'm going to be a dad!" He turned and yelled it out at the soldiers around him and Elena heard hoots and hollers and saw someone clap her husband on the shoulder._

 _Damon said Stefan says a huge congrats and for Elena to give her sister a hug from her husband. Damon told her Stefan carries her sisters picture everywhere and looks at it every night and says a prayer for her looking up at the stars._

 _Elena assured him she will pass it on. She knew Damon carried a picture of her with him everywhere too. Anything to help him feel closer to her._

 _She loved seeing his face, finding out he was going to be a dad and it lit her up even more inside. "I wish you were here Damon," she groaned out and he moved closer to the screen, filling it even more with his gorgeous face._

" _Damn, baby girl. There is nowhere I would rather be. I would be spinning you up and around in my arms right now. I love you so much." He breathed that last line out in a lower voice and Elena already felt her body tingling at merely the sound of his lower sexy voice._

" _I know Damon. I know. I love you too… and now I have a little tiny 'us' growing inside me," Elena whispered and moved so the screen showed her bare stomach. She heard Damon moan and saw him look like kissed the monitor. He pressed his lips to his fingers and then put them on the screen. Elena reached out, putting her fingers on her screen too._

 _He looked okay from what she could see, his dark, beautiful, raven hair dusty and his cheeks thin, making her wonder how much he ate. He looked like he had aged some and she had no idea the stress he was under and the pressure his job had._

 _She had always been supportive and loved him through any of his nightmares when he was home. Or held him when he cried about kids that had died on his watch. He had seen a counselor for any PTSD and yet came out of any kind of checks with flying colors. They always said they had each other and when one was weaker, the other would be strong. It had been that way their whole marriage._

 _Damon had to go and they only got to talk like this a few times a month but it felt so good to tell him about the baby. As much as he wanted to be home for little 'us' birth. That is what they both started calling it since they both wanted to be surprised if it was a boy or girl later. He was still on tour in 8 months and he watched Elena scream and cry as Kat held up the phone so he could be as a part of it as possible._

 _He had talked her through hard contractions and said how proud he was of her. He had said he was imagining holding her hand as she screamed that it hurt so much. He took her full on seriously when she snapped at him to never have sex with her again and that he will never understand this kind of pain. He had been nothing but patient and soothed her back to calm, with only his words and the tone of his voice as she panted and sweat and screamed to bring their little girl into the world._

 _Damon had been silent as Elena had held up their baby girl. His were eyes so wide, his hands reaching like he wished he could crawl through the damn screen to be there, kissing her and holding his daughter and his amazingly strong wife._

 _Elena laid the baby out so he could see every little toe, every tiny finger and he saw how ice blue her eyes were right away. She was born with a full head of dark hair and Elena said she loved to pieces how much their baby looked just like her daddy. They had laughed and shared and Damon even talked to her and encouraged her while she tried to feed the squirming newborn._

 _She wanted to cry out how badly she wanted him there but she did not want him to feel any more guilty than he already did for being halfway around the world. Their baby was born just before Christmas and was due to have been a New Years baby but came early._

 _Damon was on leave in a few weeks and was holding Elena and their daughter before their Lily was even 6 weeks old. They named her Lily Anne, after his mother and hers and the older women had been so honored and spoiled their first grandchild like predicted._

* * *

Elena looked down now seeing her bulging belly and rubbed it to sooth the constant kicking. The baby sure was active for this time of day. Feeling a chill from the over head fans Elena slipped her arms out of her jacket and tucked it safely in her carry on bag. She lifted Damon's jacket out of the bag and brought the collar to her nose, closing her eyes and breathing in the faint scent of him still on it.

She had slept wearing his jacket a lot the last few weeks, missing him and feeling closer to him all wrapped in his leather jacket. Elena opened her eyes and slid her arms in the sleeves that went past her hands even and snuggled into its warmth. Wearing his jacket reminded her of all the times he curled it around her shoulders when they were skating and she had loved the feeling of wearing something so precious to him.

Lily and her decided to have sandwiches and a piece of fruit for lunch from the cafe and Elena gets them both a milk to share. It was almost time to board the plane. They stop at the bathroom again, washed up and headed towards their gate.

Elena sees the news on one of the TVs they passed. The story was on the war and the soldiers still fighting for freedom overseas. Since Lily had been born he had been home for a full month at a time once a year or so. He had more time home when Lily was only 2 and then really became a hands on dad. Elena had loved having him home, treasuring every little simple moment that was so much more precious with him there and not so far away.

The last time she spoke to him was weeks ago. He had said they were trying to get home for Christmas and were working hard to make that deadline. Elena had just started teaching Lily to skate last year when she turned 4 and now she could not wait for Damon to see how good she had gotten and enjoy skating with both his girls.

His last leave had been in summer and she had been thrilled to find out they were pregnant again a few weeks after he left. Things had been shaping up for him to be home the full year coming home now and maybe it would be his last overseas tour finally. Elena had been praying for that and Damon had said over and over that he was not missing the birth of his baby this time.

Elena spun around fast, to arms coming around her and she studied the face beside hers. "Kat! Oh my God. What are you doing here?" Her sister had been waiting for Stefan to come back from the same tour and yet it didn't make sense that she was here now.

Her sister hugged her again before bending down and giving her niece a big hug too. Lily had excitedly jumped into her arms. Kat looked back up at Elena. "I know, I know I didn't need to be but I knew you were flying in...with everyone," she motioned around the terminal. Elena didn't realize how busy it really was and how many little kids were scattered throughout the space at their gate.

Kat lived on the base with Elena and Damon. Stefan was on the same crew so they had always moved together. But she had been out visiting their mom and dad in Tennessee the last while.

Elena hugged her again, turning more to the side to not press her big belly between them. "I'm really glad you are here Kathy. Thanks for that."

Katherine nodded and moved to stroke her sisters belly. "Wow, he is wide awake now isn't he?"

Elena smiled, still keeping a tight hold on Lily's hand. "We don't know its a boy yet Sis. Its our little 'us'" she said proudly, loving repeating what Damon called their babies.

"I don't care what you say El. That is a beautiful baby boy in your belly...you'll see." Katherine stretched her jaw. "Yikes quite the tongue twister." She made a face at Lily and offered to take her to get an ice cream before the flight. Elena thought that was a great idea and collapsed with all their bags to the seat closest to her.

She leaned her head back on the window behind her, liking in the feel of the coolness on her head. She was feeling a headache coming on from everything. She heard the TV still tuned to the news station talking about the towns the army had taken back from the radicals. They were checking to make sure things were safe before allowing the citizens back to their lives.

Elena remembered the last time they talked that her husband had mentioned they had only a few towns left to clear of any I.E.D,'s or any kind of bombs or other weapons. They needed to sweep all the buildings and roads in and out of the town for any danger before letting all the town people back. He promised he would do his best to be back by Christmas.

* * *

" _Just be safe Damon. Please be safe," Elena had breathed out, touching his face on the screen, imagining she was stroking her hand down his cheek. It was almost Lily's bedtime and Elena was already in her lace ribbed tank top and plaid shorts, her hair up in a loose bun ready for bed too. Her bare feet were crossed in front of her as she leaned back into the pillows on their big four poster bed._

" _I always am baby," Damon replied and leaned closer too, patting his pocket. "I have you and Lily right in my pocket to remind me every minute where my heart is. I will get back to you sweetie. I promise. And the new little 'us' that I am determined to feel kick, like I missed with Lily. I have missed too much Elena. Too much."_

 _Elena was crying, maybe just from being more emotional lately with the pregnancy or maybe she could not shake this sense of dread she felt pressing on her heart. "We miss you too. All of us." She caressed her belly and brought the phone to her stomach, lifting her tank top. "Do you hear that? That is your daddy's voice."_

 _She held the screen to her belly and heard Damon groan. "God Elena I am so sorry I miss all this. Feeling the first kick again and helping you with your cravings and holding your hair when you are sick. I want to be right there to hold you in bed, feeling those strong kicks at my hand."_

 _Elena sniffled and wiped the tears from her face as Lily walked by the room in her fuzzy, long, soft green nightgown, seeing her crying. Her big blue eyes were wide and she climbed on the bed and reached her arms around her moms big belly and gave her baby brother or sister a hug while hugging Elena too._

 _Damon was still talking and Lily lay her head on Elena's belly listening to him. "Your mom is a rock-star do you know that?" His voice started sounding choked up too and Elena wiped more tears away._

" _She is so strong and has been taking care of you and your big sister all my herself. Daddy wants to be there SO badly and he will be really, really soon. You and Lily and Mommy are my world."_

 _Damon's voice was shaking now too and Elena knew he had to be trying so hard to hold back his own tears. God, she missed him so much she ached._

" _Daddy?" Lily whispered and Damon sniffled while Elena moved the phone back to let him see their faces. He was smiling through his tears and Elena just decided to let the tears slip down her cheeks and not try to hide them from their little girl._

" _Yes Lily bear. I'm right here," Damon said softly. "I miss you too, so much. Are you taking good care of mommy? Being her big helper?" Lily was nodding rapidly at his smiling face. She had been an incredible little helper when Elena needed it._

" _I made you a picture Daddy." She ran from the room and was back in a flash, jumping back on the bed and held it up to the phone. "This is me and you. And here you are kneeling down in the airport after the big plane brought you back. You are giving me most biggest, gigantic hug in the world!"_

" _Wow I can see that. You are a really good artist Lily."_

 _Elena was smiling and in awe of hearing them talking together. She wanted times like this to last forever. Their rambunctious girl laying between them in bed, talking their ears off all about her busy day while they snuggled up. She imagined their heads resting together on the pillows above her head and Lily would peek up when they stole kisses, glaring in her little fiery way to make sure her mom and dad were still listening._

 _Damon said he would need to go soon and Elena sniffled again not wanting this time to end. She was feeling so emotional right now and had no idea why._

" _Daddy, don't forget it is my birthday reaaally soon." Lily reminded him sternly._

" _I won't Lily bean, I promise. I am doing my best to be home for your birthday and we can blow out the candles together and open presents and have so much fun! How does that sound?"_

 _Elena thought he sounded so emotional too and she smiled through her tears at him._

" _No presents daddy. I don't want anything like that for Christmas. I saw Santa, and he's SO not real. I know that now."_

" _Oh...okay good to know sweetie. Okay no presents." Damon replied and Elena realized she hadn't mentioned her little surprise at that mall seeing that Santa lost his beard in front of a whole group of children and Lily then told Elena she knew he couldn't be real._

" _No presents Daddy. Just you...YOU can be my present...okay? That is ALL I want for Christmas, is for my daddy to be home."_

 _Elena looked around the little girl on her lap, curled up around her baby bump and talking so serious and sounding so grown up. She saw Damon smile and nod, the emotion all over his handsome face. He pressed a kiss to the screen with his fingers and Lily did it back._

" _I love my girls...to the moon and back!" he whispered and Lily laughed._

" _Till forever and back daddy. Forever." Lily kissed the screen herself and then jumped down and ran to play. Elena just stared at him, knowing their time was up._

 _He smiled and she could see a tear running down his cheek too. "I know baby, I know," he said softly._

 _She didn't know where all this emotion was coming from but it was coming in floods now. "I'm scared Damon. I don't know why, but I am SO scared."_

 _He shushed her and looked deep in her eyes. "Then I'll be strong enough for the both of us, Elena. See you soon." The screen started flickering and she called out another I love you and he echoed it before it all went black._

* * *

 _A Few Weeks Ago..._

 _Damon had looked up, sniffling again at the blank screen and already missing his wife, his precious little girl and unborn baby. He swiped at the tears and headed back out of the communication tent into the bright sun shining down. His uniform was stifling and he hated having to wear so much just to walk around every day. But he did it for them, for his little family._

 _However the longer he was here, the longer he dreamed that he could serve his country full time from back in The States. He had been in talks with his supervisors about teaching everything he knew to the younger men coming in. He wanted to retire from active duty more every damn day. He had too much to live for and nothing meant more than his girls._

 _It was bright and early that morning and the sun was already shining far too hot for them to not even be on their way yet. The last few towns were only a few clicks away. He could practically taste the end of his tour in this sweltering country. He had not longed to lay on the ice of 'their' rink more than the last few days. Damon wanted the warmth of her body snuggled up to his while laying on the cool blanket covered ice._

 _He knew it was almost Christmas but here it was hard to tell one day from the next, let alone when special time like holidays came. Often the bosses would get entertainment, a comedian or music on special occasions but this was one Christmas he wanted to be far, far away from here._

 _They all nodded their greetings and his brother was already yawning this damn early in the morning and Damon slapped him in the back of the head. They needed to focus and get their job done and move on to the next town._

 _The ride was bumpy and dusty like always and he squinted through the stuffy air to see the town ahead of them. There were flashes of gun fire and sparks and loud booms further away. No matter how many times he heard it, he would never get used to the sound._

 _Damon nodded to Enzo and Ric. Those two had been his buddies, his sanity in the sea of crazy that being here was. They both had special ladies at home too just like him and Stef and they had each others backs for years now. Damon never felt more secure in such a dangerous environment with them watching his back._

 _They moved through the town, house by house, street by street making sure things were safe. The gunfire sounded further and further away and Damon was so glad. He knew the army had slowly been pushing back and re taking the towns from the enemy while some teams were still searching everywhere for the higher profile terrorists to take into custody. There was intel that some of them were close by or had been very recently._

 _They went in two man formation, clearing each house and Ric was with him as they made their way through town. Stefan and Enzo had found a bomb in what was the towns church and called them in to take it apart. The rest of the day went smoothly, no surprises and the men fell exhausted to their beds._

 _Damon held up his picture of his girls like he did every night and kissed the smiling faces. Elena and him were laying on the rink where the ice would be but it had been summer at that time and Lily was cuddled up on his chest and reaching her hands up to the camera. Her smile was wide, her eyes shining and looking just like his._

 _Elena, his everything, his reason for breathing looked more beautiful every day and every time he looked at the picture even, he saw her deep chocolate eyes look like they were searing his very soul with her gaze. She was so so beautiful and yet so shy and bashful and he loved that about her. With him and Lily she was so silly and goofy and could just be herself. Even with her sister or her friends too. But he absolutely fell in love with the shy and clumsy Elena that could not skate and would cling to him for help._

 _He tucked the picture back in his pocket and closed his eyes, dreaming of being in their bed, curled up to her warm body, so soft and responsive to his every touch. He could see himself snuggling in at her neck, peppering kisses all along her collarbone before he curled up, burying his nose in her silky hair, breathing her in. Sleep came quickly when he allowed his mind to be consumed by her._

 _The next day went well too, finding more bombs and taking them apart to make the next town safe to come back to. Damon always loved seeing the people back, smiling and thanking them for all their help. Not everyone was grateful but for the most part people saw them as part of the solution and not the cause of more strife in the country._

 _The following afternoon when they came back to camp, sirens were blaring, and there was a high speed chase on the radios. The units further south said a group of terrorists attacked and commandeered a bus full of kids on a school field trip from a neighboring town. They had killed all but one teacher, tossing their bodies on the road before taking off._

 _A group of soldiers followed satellite images to give chase and take back the hostages. But the bus had made it to a town the radicals still had control over and they were threatening to kill them all if the Americans did not release one of their leaders that had just been captured and would be on the way to The States to be tried as a war criminal._

 _Damon got called to the Captain's tent and he knew somehow his team was going to be requested. There was no way they would release any of the recently captured Taliban leaders. That had been a huge victory for the whole war to find some of the elder leaders against them and take them out of play._

 _But there were kids as young as 5 on that bus, and the one young teacher, a woman barely 20 years old was all the comfort those kids had. How could this end well for anyone? He had been in dangerous circumstances before and kids had been killed due to the enemy's attacks and bombs he had not found in time._

 _He was right and within the hour they had been suited up and were to follow in behind the other teams that were tasked to take out the terrorists. The men had been heard on the radios that they had two bombs and would set them off if their demands did not get met by midnight._

 _There was a near silence as the army came in full stealth, and he was so glad his team could stay back till they took out the majority of the enemy in the town. Stepping out of the transport he couldn't see a thing to alert the enemies that they were there. Each street had been checked in sequence and targets eliminated without alerting others nearby. So far no bombs had gone off and they had come in at night, taking people out slowly flanking them and boxing them in._

 _His leaders said sat images showed a large grouping of people in a central building with numerous bogies around it. The hostages were likely still alive and being contained together._

 _A low whistle caused him to turn and his sergeant was motioning him forward and held up a phone with blue prints on the screen. It was time. Intel suggested the bombs were with the hostages and the teams ahead of them had just taken out the last sentry around the building._

 _Damon put his hand on Stefan's shoulder and Stefan's hand went on his. Ric and Enzo completed the circle. They all had their heads down and Damon closed his eyes. He could do this. He was so close to home free here. There were just a few more towns to clear and this was just a hiccup in that plan. He had been on night raids before and had complete faith in the men around him._

" _Let's do this!" he hissed out and nodded slowly at his team. "Home is so close gentlemen. We have done this before. We are going save those kids and still get our asses home for Christmas..."_


	4. Chapter 4

Elena jerked herself up from the window as she heard the intercom above them calling out that they would be boarding shortly. The voice reminded her to please have their tickets ready and have a safe trip.

She moved around, her hand roaming the empty air as she realized she wasn't still holding Lily's hand. Lily? For a brief terrifying second Elena forgot that Kat had taken her daughter to get ice cream. She relaxed back into her seat, rubbing Damon's chain through her fingers.

She missed him so much. This pregnancy had been harder on her and she felt like she was barely keeping her head above water. They had had so many suppers of cereal or PB and J and Elena had watching way more cartoons with Lily when she had been throwing up so much. This trip had been so great to hear about and yet so hard when all she wanted was to stay in their bed.

And she wanted him...God she wanted Damon…

* * *

" _Elena," he breathed out...and pulled out his dog tags and kissing them before tucking them safely back against his heart. He was just outside the building where the hostages were and he laid his head back on the cement wall and shut his eyes. "Be with me baby..." he whispered quietly. "Feel me...I need you so much. Be my calm..."_

 _He knew Stefan heard him talk to himself sometimes or talk to her. It helped him and his brother knew it calmed him when things were tense. He turned his head, opening his eyes and nodded at the men and he pulled the door open. He swung his gun around, holding the flashlight up. There was no one there._

 _Letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding he took a step forward and then other three men fanned out around the empty entryway. He nodded at them to move forward and they had their guns up. His stance was rigid as he crisscrossed his feet through the room and pressed against the wall beside the next door._

 _Damon could hear voices and even though the other teams had already gone ahead of him, he was as vigilant as if anyone could be around a corner. His team headed further into the middle of the building, climbing the first set of stairs to the 2nd floor._

 _They arrived at the room adjacent to the one with the hostages on the 6th floor and he saw more soldiers setting up c4 to blast through the locked door. They had already sent in a camera to determine positions and even had men in the air ducts to jump down and take out the terrorists when they were focused on the explosions. He could hear through his coms of the other team on the opposite side on the same floor were setting up their material to blow the door too._

 _His heart was racing as the he heard the countdown and everyone stayed behind the wall to the stairs._

 _The explosions hit simultaneously and he felt the foundation of the building shake beneath his boots. The teams raced in and there were shots everywhere. Damon ran in too and squinted at the smoke in his eyes as he let his vision adjust. His back was to the wall, his gun up as he scanned the area for hostiles._

 _He saw one coming at them and Stefan took the shot as Damon took out another going for a detonator of some kind that he pulled from his pocket. The black box fell from the mans palm to clatter to the floor. He was about to shoot again when a bullet ripped his gun from his tight grip and it went flying into the wall._

 _Men scattered out in all directions, engaging the hostiles or giving chase to those who were running. Some soldiers were trying to surround the hostages to shield them._

 _Damon knew they needed to make sure all the hostiles were contained before looking for the bombs but he dove forward seeing the detonator on the ground. The man he shot was crawling toward it, his chest bleeding as he dragged his body. His eyes, dark and beady...glaring at Damon were terrifying._

 _Damon kept his head down away from more gunfire crisscrossing the room and he could hear the children screaming. He knew people were fighting or shooting around him but his focus was on getting that fucking detonator before the asshole hostile did. His hand closed around the edge of the box, pulling it toward him but he screamed out the next second as the terrorist had slammed a knife in his hand!_

 _The man ripped the knife back out, snarled and slashed at him again. Damon spun his body, grabbing the guys hand to hold the knife back. He kicked him in the stomach, snatching his damaged hand back. Diving on top of him, Damon held tight to the hand holding the knife and twisted the guys wrist till he heard a snap and the knife dropped from his grip._

 _He scrambled to reach the knife on the floor with his good hand as it got kicked away and heard Enzo yelling at other men to go after the ones running out the back. They were grabbing kids and using them as cover for their escape, the sick bastards!_

 _The man's other hand came up and grabbed at Damon's throat and threw him to the ground, squeezing hard. Damon gritted his teeth, fighting back on the iron grip on his neck. He could see Stefan fighting off a man against the wall and Ric looked to be on the ground and Enzo he saw running toward him to help._

 _There were men down and Damon could hear on his coms that someone had spotted a wanted terrorist leader in the group racing away. Some men had given chase, racing down the back stairway. The hostiles had spread out and he heard they were trying to shoot their way out the back way of the building with the hostages in their arms and the teams were in pursuit._

 _He felt the detonator in his hand, as the man held his arm down so Damon could not move it as he held him down kicking and fighting. His hand felt like it was on fire, the man was bending his arm back so bad he thought it would snap. Enzo had been shooting at another terrorist, while grabbing one of the little kids and shielding them behind him. He had thrown his knife at the man choking Damon trying to help him too at the same time. It hit the enemy in the shoulder and Damon ripped it out, lifting it to the man's throat._

 _Damon gritted his teeth, fighting the pain on his throat, forcing his eyes to stay open as his vision swam in front of him. He was hardly getting any air. He raked the knife across the mans neck just as he felt him wrench the box from his bleeding hand and flick the switch._

 _Damn it!_

 _His blood sprayed out over Damon's face and he pulled the guy off him, reaching for the detonator. He held it up seeing the timer at 57 seconds and counting! Fuck!_

 _There was no time to dismantle whatever it was. They needed to get the hell out of there!_

 _There were windows but with kids they were too high up to jump. Damon did not even know where the bomb was or if the timer was for both._

" _Get everyone out. The bomb has been activated. Repeat. The bomb is active! 50 seconds till detonation!" he yelled through his com._

 _He stood up and ran to the group of kids and the very wide eyed young lady teacher. "Everyone out now! We need to run!" He saw the numbers counting down and Stefan motioned to them and started to lead them to the hallway and down the stairs. Enzo grabbed Ric and hauled him onto his shoulders unconscious. The kids ran as fast as they could. Damon scooped up what looked to be the smallest little boy and raced down the stairs. The young teacher had a little girl in her arms too and was holding the hands of another young boy._

 _He was panting, his breath echoing in his ears as they ran. He heard an explosion further away and yelling through his com that one of the terrorists just blew himself up taking with him anyone too close from the team chasing them. Damn it!_

 _Damon knew it was close and they were almost to the ground floor. Enzo had let people pass him as he carried Ric and Stefan had come racing back and grabbed another little kid that was at the back of the group._

 _They were crossing the ground floor and Damon saw the timer was at the last 5 seconds. He yanked the door open and kids poured out, running to the front doors._

 _The explosion blew stones up, blasting one whole outer wall apart. The bomb had been under ground. The floor started to crack, the stone shifting under his boots and suddenly he was falling, tumbling down and holding tight to the little boy. He felt his body slam against a wall and could barely make out through the dust and debris that there was a space under where the floor must have fallen down into the basement._

 _Damon scrambled under the stone flooring, pulling the boy with him and as more kids fell tumbling down he grabbed them and pulled them under the solid sheltered area. Triangle of survival, he remembered and getting as close to a solid surface to avoid the falling stone and cement might be their only chance. He screamed for Stefan as more rocks crashed down and backed up more to avoid them hitting him. His body turned away from the opening, holding the kids back, his body between theirs and the falling rocks as darkness swallowed them up..._

* * *

 _Damon coughed and gasped out, opening his eyes in the near darkness. He felt pain, all over his body and then a numbness settled into his muscles. He coughed again and tried to turn his head. His neck worked and squinting he could see a little better. He ripped a piece of his tank top off to wrap tight around his hand that was still bleeding from the knife wound and looked around more in the near darkness._

 _He felt movement in front of him and he realized two of the kids had moved closer to huddle in against his chest, their little arms around him. He heard quiet sobs against his body and breathed a sigh of relief at the sound. At least some of them were alive. He had no idea how many kids he had pulled under the overhanging stone flooring as the rocks fell._

 _There was a pile of rubble just in front of him and squinting in the darkness he saw a blonde head partially under it. "Stefan!" Damon choked out. "Stefan, wake up!"_

 _His brother moved. Thank God. And lifted his head. He was trapped under more cement and wood beams it looked like._

 _Damon could see the faintest light from further ahead of Stefan. There were rocks piled up but the tiniest light was coming through._

" _Stefan can you move?" Damon called out and rubbed the little kid's backs that were pressed against him. "Its okay. We are going to get you all out of here. Just keep breathing okay?" He had no idea if the little kids understood him but hoped he knew he was trying to calm them down._

" _Stefan!" he tried again and his brother weakly groaned and turned his head toward him. He hadn't made it under the stone shelter like Damon and some of the kids had. He had been right in the open when the bomb blew apart the building._

 _Damon felt dizzy and felt blood at his lips. His head hurt and he wondered what else was broken or damaged. Damon tried to stay awake but felt his eyes closing as everything went black..._

* * *

 _When he woke up, it was to the sound of a little girl crying. Damon blinked and saw more light. Some of the stones had been moved from where the little bit of light was before._

" _Damon! Stefan!" a voice called out._

" _Enzo! Are you okay? Is Ric okay?" He choked and tasted more blood at his lips and felt up his head to a gash on his forehead that had dripped blood down his cheek. It was dried blood by now, leaving Damon to wonder how long he had been out._

" _Damon! Thank heavens man. I was worried no one was alive down there. The whole place could come down on you guys. We need to get you out of there."_

 _He coughed again but felt more dust in the air tickle his lungs more causing more coughing. Damn it, he felt like shit. He reach up and tied a bandana from his pocket around his nose and mouth. He passed another one, ripping it in half to the kids pressed against him for them to put it to their faces._

 _Stefan had moved more and managed to pull his body to sitting in the small dark space. Damon turned his body pushing stones away and knelt down in front of him._

" _Damon! The kid I was carrying is alive. Barely a pulse but she's alive. We need to get them out of here."_

 _Damon nodded silently and grunted, pushing a few smaller pieces of cement to fall the other way and off brother's legs. Stefan dragged his body to standing, passing Damon the little girl. She was practically limp in his arm and coughed weakly. He held the bandana to her face telling her to take more deep breaths._

 _They practically tripped on another body. It was the teacher and she too looked to be alive but barely breathing, a bad gash to her head and her one arm was under some heavy rocks. It took both the brothers to lift the cement block off her arm as she woke up screaming in pain when the pressure was released. They started passing the kids up and out the hole to Enzo and Damon helped the young lady up, getting her steady on her legs and passing her to Stefan to lift out to the surface._

 _Damon could hear more shifting and the stones were cracking above them, making more dust in the air. The brothers passed the kids that Damon had hid in the stone shelter one by one up across the room and up to Enzo and the men helping above ground. Damn it they needed to hurry!_

 _The last child was huddled in the corner under the stone and was shaking her head, crying that she could not move. Damon bent back down and crawled under the overhang to reach his hand to her._

" _C'mon sweetie. You need to grab my hand. We are going to get you out of here but you have to help me." She was curled up into herself in the darkness, shaking her head. She could not have been older than 6 and had tears streaming down her face._

 _Damon had no idea if she even understood him, but he offered her a soft smile and motioned her closer, stretching his hand closer. Slowly she moved forward and grasped her hand and Damon had carried her, limping from the rocks that had hit his legs as he made his way to Stefan. Together they passed her up and out of the hole above them._

 _Enzo yelled down to wait and that the men up top were bracing some of the rocks, to make it more stable to climb back up. Everything had started to shift when the teacher made her way out and both the brothers were much heavier than she was._

 _Stefan turned back to him and Damon saw him tear open his uniform and lift up the white tank top. Damon nearly gasped out at the blood he saw pooling under his skin in his stomach. Stefan pulled it back down, a knowing look in his eye. He was bleeding internally...for God knows how long already._

 _Damon bit back tears as he motioned that Stefan should go first. He needed a doctor badly or he might not make it. They nodded to each other silently both aware of how dire everything was._

 _Stefan turned back to him. "Damon, get back under that stone piece. You don't need to out in the open when I start climbing to the surface. This whole place could come down in seconds and at least then you have some protection from the falling rocks._

 _Damon nodded and they looked at each other before reaching out and hugging fiercely, both with tears in their eyes. Damon grabbed his brother by the back of the neck and nodded slowly. They heard Enzo call back down to come quickly. Stefan spun his weak and battered body and started to climb the debris and stones. Damon pushed him up as far as he could reach, his hands under his boots before he went back to the protected area. Enzo's hand was out as he yelled at him to hurry and reach up._

 _More cracking could be heard all around them and the stones shifted from his weight on them and Damon's eyes widened seeing the cement pieces weaken. "Stefan hurry!" His heart was racing and he felt such a huge sense of dread. He remembered Elena being so scared the last time they talked. She couldn't describe it but she had been terrified then...and now he felt it too._

 _Stefan scrambled up the stone pieces, his bloody hands gripping the broken cement as he pulled himself up. But suddenly there was louder cracking and stones started falling, more cement shifted and he heard Enzo yelling that they needed to hurry!_

 _Rocks fell, sealing the hole up more and he heard his brother screaming as they heard more crashing above them. Damon cowered under the stone floor as he heard rocks falling and the space getting darker as they were sealed up underground._

 _The last thought he had of was how much he wanted was to hold his wife right then and cuddle his sweet little girl. Damon felt weak, his body battered from the stones, or rolling and crashing into the wall. His hand stung from the knife wound and his one arm felt so weak he could barely move it. He curled up his body tight against the stone overhand as his eyes stayed shut._

 _Tears in his eyes wet his face as he cried out, beneath the bandana over his mouth and nose "Elena I'm so sorry. So, so sorry..."_

* * *

Elena saw Lily running toward her, with Kat close behind as she heard the announcer on the intercom speaking.

"Welcome to all of you," the lady's sweet voice said. "We all at Nashville International are profoundly sorry for your losses. Words cannot express how much."

She felt the tears in her eyes as she reached out and Lily ran and threw her little arms around her mom's neck. Elena picked her up, sitting with her to the side of her huge baby bump.

"On behalf of the Gary Sinise Foundation we welcome you all to the Snowball Express and wish you all a safe trip and hope this trip to Disney World can at the very least be a good memory in the sea of pain you are all facing now. From all of us at American Airlines, we wish you and your families our deepest sympathies and best wishes."

Elena felt the tears falling now as she cradled Lily in her arms. Kat sat down beside her and leaned her head to his sisters shoulder. They started playing 'The Star Spangled Banner' through the speakers and all the people young and old stood up and bowed their heads, taking off their hats, or holding their hand to their chest in reverence. The whole terminal was at a stand still. Everyone either stood or sat in silence.

Elena put Lily down beside her and stood up too, holding tight to her daughter's hand. She twisted Damon's necklace between her fingers and lifted it out from her camisole and kissed it again. The dog tags clinked together as her lips stayed on the metal, her eyes closed as tears streamed down her cheeks.

She bent down and pulled out the picture from her bag. The same picture he always carried with him of Damon and her, laying on the ice rink, this time in the soft green grass with Lily in his arms. Elena unzipped her carry on bag too and pulled out the flag that was given to them at his funeral last week. No body had been recovered but the witnesses said he and his brother had been buried alive in the building came down.

All they had found was his dog tags and his picture in his hand, the rest of the body crushed. The picture was charred around the edges from a fire she was told that had burned the building he was in. It was only still intact because it was clenched tight in his hand, away from the flames.

Elena held the folded up flag against her chest and sobbed more, curling his jacket tighter around her, aching to still smell him on it. To keep him with her. She had no idea how to survive without him. She had to be strong for Lily and their baby. She had to be.

But right now as the music played and she saw men, woman and children all standing at attention, all honoring the fallen soldiers of all the families here, she broke down. She had been strong for days, only crying when Lily was asleep and now the floodgates were open and she could not stop the tears, the gut wrenching silent sobs.

Katherine had lost Stefan too and had mourned in her own way and ran back home, feeling the comfort and love from their parents. She had no children to be strong for, or cling to. Nothing more than memories of the happy times they had as a couple. She wasn't going on this trip and it had been pure coincidence that Elena saw their connection before their flight to Florida was in their parent's home town.

She promised her mom that she and Lily would visit after they got back. This trip was for kids of fallen soldiers and first responders. Lily even in missing her daddy and understanding he was in heaven, had been so excited for the trip that Elena could not say no. She was planning to move back home after for awhile and decide where they went from there.

The room was filled with voices, as more and more passengers sang too, honoring the dead. There were red, white and blue balloons all over in bunches or decorated balloon filled archways, reminding Elena of their skating rink and the archway under which they kissed the first time and got engaged and were married.

Lily looked up as she stood tall beside her mom and had tears in her eyes too. Wordlessly she reached up and Elena put down the flag and bent to pick her up, cuddling their daughter close. "I miss daddy too mommy...so much," Lily whispered against her ear and Elena nodded and rocked her back and forth, holding her up over her big belly.

The song came to an end and she saw soldiers giving a military salute. It was all too much and Elena just wanted to crawl back in their bed and cry and dream about him. She had barely slept in their big bed since she had been given the news of the raid and the building that he had been in collapsing with him trapped inside. One of the men that came to her door were his and Stefan's teammate, Enzo.

He had survived the collapse when his buddy Ric had not. Enzo told her that they had tried to get to Damon and Stefan trapped in the basement. But the building collapsed fully before they could get them free and the terrorists had retaken the town, forcing any rescuers to retreat as gunfire and explosions got closer.

The Americans had taken hostage one of the terrorist leaders and they were trying to get back out of the town with him when more and more terrorists flooded the streets coming from the north where they still occupied much of the land there and they surrounded the soldiers and forced them to hand the elder leader back over or die. Enzo said the men had killed him instead of releasing him to them knowing they were all dead anyway and at least they took the leader with them.

The army had lost a great deal of men that night but Elena was told that Damon and Stefan had helped save many of the children and teacher that that been kidnapped. A few soldiers led the kids and young woman to safety before more terrorists got there. If it hadn't been for Damon and his quick actions to get people out of there, no one might have made it out alive at all.

By the time the enemy had retreated and ran to the hills, the building and many others had been set on fire and it was too late. All they had found was the picture and dog tags in his nearly burned up hand that seemed to have forced the items up through a crack in the rocks.

Enzo had not wanted to tell her more than that he had died in the mission, Stefan too. But Elena had begged him to tell her what happened. She had to know how he had been taken from her. Her nightmares if she had not known, she was sure would have been much worse.

Katherine gave her one more big hug as Elena still held Lily in her arms. Elena promised she would be home soon. She packed up Damon's flag back in her bag and made sure nothing else was getting forgotten. People were lining up to board the plane now. The Snowball Express had a whole plane of children and their surviving parents headed to Disney World. It was such an overwhelming gift to the families that were all mourning their loved ones.

They stood in line silently, Lily now standing beside her mom, holding Lumpy tight. Elena wiped her tears, seeing so many others somber faces and offered them weak but knowing smiles. They were all facing the same grief, the same incredible and indescribable loss.

She handed the attendant her tickets and the woman bent and asked Lily if she wanted a balloon. The little girl nodded, her eyes still red from crying too and the lady tied a bright red helium balloon to her wrist.

Elena was just about to step through the door at their gate leading to the plane when she heard her name on the intercom.

"Elena Salvatore, please come to one of the white courtesy phones. You have an important call. Elena Salvatore."

At that she looked up and the woman pointed her toward the nearest phone. She fished her own phone out of her pocket and saw that she had 10 unanswered calls! What was going on? She had left it on silent when they left the house and had not thought to turn it back on. Every call was from the same number...a really long overseas number…

She held tight to her daughter's hand as she made her way to the phone. Lily stood beside her, playing with her balloon as she picked up the receiver.

"Hello, this is Elena," she almost whispered. She felt she could hardly breath as she listened for the reply.

"Elena this is Officer Rudy Hopkins of the..." The man went on to describe being Damon's superior calling on behalf of his detachment. She could barely hear him over the pounding of blood in her ears.

"Ma'am I apologize for pulling you away just before your plane took off but we have some urgent news and I have been trying to reach you for hours."

Elena nodded, gripping the phone tighter not realizing she wasn't saying anything in response. Damon's baby kicked hard right then and Elena let go of Lily's hand to rub her palm over her belly.

"Ma'am are you still there?" the man said in a low very formal voice.

"Yes, yes I'm here," she managed to squeak out.

"Mrs. Salvatore you need to board the plane to Germany immediately. We will be here when you and your daughter arrive. I have already made arrangements with the airport staff to transfer your tickets and suitcase."

Elena had no idea what he was talking about. Fly to Germany?

"Mrs. Salvatore, your husband is alive… Damon is alive."

* * *

 **He's alive. I would not kill Damon, so thank you to those of you that hung on and read till now. I didn't want to give it away at the beginning by saying just have faith and trust me for a happy ending. I wanted to rip you through bunch of emotions and have you think he could actually be gone and then show you he wasn't.**

 **Please review...**


	5. Chapter 5

She nearly dropped the phone, the sweat from her hand had it almost slip from her fingers. Elena braced herself on the wall in front of her as Lily started tugged on Damon's jacket asking what was going on. "He's alive?" She was sure she had just imagined him saying that.

"Yes, ma'am. He was air lifted to the hospital and is in surgery right now and I am standing right outside the doors. He is stable and the doctors are saying everything is going well. He should be in recovery in a few hours. He was rescued in a terrorist raid of one of their camps early this morning. Your husband was found among the hostages, Elena. He is safe now and was asking for you before he even went into surgery."

Elena turned around, leaning more onto the wall and felt her legs weak beneath her. She slid down the wall, still holding the phone in a death grip. Lily crawled into her lap and looked worried, likely at the shocked expression on her mom's face.

"Damon's alive…" she breathed out and Lily tilted her head up.

"Daddy?" she cried out. "What about Daddy?"

"You need to get to the hospital ma'am. We can explain more when you arrive. I will meet you when you land."

Elena stumbled over a goodbye and leaned her head back on the wall in absolute shock. She turned to Lily, who's blue eyes just like Damon's, were so wide now and she looked ready to cry. "Baby, Daddy is alive. They said we can take a plane to go see him right away." She still didn't even believe the words coming out of her own mouth but Lily's smile and trust in her mom's words helped her process it herself.

She walked back to their gate attendant who showed her the already changed tickets and escorted her and Lily to the International terminal and the flight to Germany. They sat down and buckled up and Elena still could not believe what she had heard.

* * *

The flight was long but her head was full of thoughts and feelings and in what felt like no time at all they were stepping off the flight and into the airport. One of the flight attendants had helped entertain Lily as they flew, even taking her for a tour of the cockpit, to see the pilots. The little girl had not even said a word about missing going to Disney World the second she knew her daddy was alive.

Elena had played the voice, Damon's voice on Lily's camel over and over on the flight and now too on the ride to the hospital Lily kept pushing the buttons and hearing the message Damon had so sweetly left her when he gave her Lumpy.

"I miss you SO much Lily bear. I see real camels all the time here. I want you to hold it tight till the next time I can hold you in my arms. Daddy loves you, till forever and back..."

Elena sniffled and could not seem to stop crying since she found out Damon was alive. Lily seemed obsessed with hearing his voice now that she knew that her daddy would be able to hold her again, just like he promised.

It felt surreal, everything that was happening. She had no idea how this was true but all that mattered was he was really alive. She didn't even know if she would fully believe it till she could see him with her own eyes, hold him, touch him, feel his arms around her.

Sure enough Officer Hopkins had met them when they landed and had come with them in the vehicle to the Military hospital. It was the largest military hospital outside of the U.S. Elena saw the sign for the Landstul Regional Medical Center and they pulled up to the doors and stepped out.

Rudy said he would take care of their bags and Elena thanked him and picked up Lily and started almost running into the hospital. The nurse on the surgical floor said Damon had been transferred to recovery an hour ago and had just woken up. Elena asked her to watch Lily for a few minutes just to go in alone first. The woman nodded and held out her hand and Lily nodded staying with her just outside the door of his room.

Heart racing, Elena caught sight of a mistletoe hanging a doorway nearby and moved to grab it and tucked it behind her back as she turned to face the door that she was told her husband was behind.

Elena swallowed thickly, having no idea what shape he would be in, but knowing no matter what, she would be with him through anything. Pushing the doors open she walked around the corner of the curtain that had been pulled around the bed.

"Oh my God Damon," she breathed out walking slowly toward him. Her legs felt like jelly and she leaned on the edge of the bed to steady herself. She was so scared this wasn't real. That she was dreaming and he wasn't laying just in front of her.

She slipped out of his leather jacket and scarf, tossing it on the chair and knelt by the head of the bed. She had felt closer to him wearing his jacket but now was in awe that he was right here alive and needed nothing more than him. Her hand was shaking as she stroked a piece of his raven hair back from his eyes, blinking and gasped out seeing his chest moving up and down. He was breathing. He really was alive!

At her touch, ice blue eyes slowly opened and his lips turned up into the most beautiful smile. "Elena?" he gasped out weakly. "Oh my God baby... I can't believe you are here."

His chin quivered and his one bandaged hand reached out to touch her cheek and she felt tears brimming at her lashes.

"I can't believe 'you' are here," she cried out and moved in closer. She held the mistletoe over their heads and Damon looked up at it and smiled weakly, his blue eyes shining. She leaned in and captured his lips and stars exploded behind her eyes.

Kissing him felt like coming home. God, she had missed him SO much.

Elena felt pure joy bubbling up in her heart as she felt his lips move over hers, his hand caressing her cheek and wiping the tears away. They kissed, leisurely and slow, tasting what they never thought they would ever taste again. She felt her legs weak from crouching down and moved to sit on the bed beside him. He pulled her closer, his one hand around her neck, tangling in her hair,

She tasted his tears at her lips as they mingled with hers as she broke down in his arms. "I can't believe you are here," she kept whispering over and over between kisses. She finally pulled back to look at him, his eyes so soul deep, locked on hers and his head bent so their foreheads touched.

Damon looked absolutely perfect.

His gorgeous face now that she looked more, had bruises and scrapes, his head had a bandage wrapped around it hiding most of his hair. She saw a cast on his one arm, the one not presently caressing her face and running down her neck and into her hair. That hand had a bandage just wrapped around his hand with the I.V. and tubes coming from it.

"God I missed you Elena," he breathed out, his voice so low. Damon lifted his one arm a bit, moving the cast closer and she ran her fingers down it. "I'm okay Elena. Its just broken. Nothing more. I got so lucky baby."

She looked him up and down more, pulling her head back. "You, you had surgery...they said."

Damon lifted the blanket by his waist and showed the bandages on his stomach. "Knife wound when the army came in and the bastard guarding a bunch of us, tried to kill me. But he missed anything serious. I lost my spleen and they repaired any other internal damage but nothing more. I have a few more cuts on my arms trying to fend him off before he got shot."

He reached up and cupped her face. "I'm okay Elena. Really. You aren't dreaming..." She touched his cheek and ran her fingers up into the little bit of hair not tucked in the bandage. "Mild concession I'm told too."

"But how…?" She still had no idea how he was here with her. But did she care? Elena laid her head to his chest and heard his heart beating so strongly. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

Someone cleared their throat at the door. It was the nurse that was watching Lily. "Oh goodness Damon Lily is outside." She wiped her face of her tears and nodded at the nurse that she could bring her in. She had been so overwhelmed in seeing Damon alive that she had forgotten she left their daughter waiting.

Lily stepped slowly into the room, her dark head down like she was scared to look. Elena gave Damon one more kiss on his forehead and then moved to kneel beside their daughter, helping her out of her jacket first. "Hey sweet girl. There is nothing to be scared of. Your daddy is really okay! You can look, trust me." Lily moved closer, and wound her arms around Elena's neck, her raven head buried at her mom's throat.

Elena glanced back up and saw Damon was quiet and moved to pull himself to sit up more in the bed. His eyes lit up at the little girl standing at the foot of his bed, his smile so wide.

Lily looked up slowly, peeking past Elena's shoulder. "Daddy?" Her voice trembled and Elena could feel her shaking in her arms. She picked her up and walked her over to sit on the bed. Damon nodded slowly and reached his one good arm up toward his little girl.

"Daddy!" she cried out and Elena passed her into Damon's arms. Lily laid against his chest and closed her eyes so tight, her little arms all the way around his body, squeezing tight. He put his bandaged hand over her head, stroking down her dark hair. Lily looked up in his eyes and reached up to pinch his cheeks as if to assure herself that he really was there and she smiled more, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm right here Lily bear. Right here," he soothed. His eyes went up and locked with Elena's and he mouthed I love you to her and she smiled through more tears and mouthed it back. She lay her head on his other shoulder, nuzzling his head and Damon kissed her hair.

Elena nearly jumped back when she felt their baby kick and grabbed for his hand and pulled up her shirt fast and placed it on her belly. Damon's eyes focused in on where she had just laid his hand. Maybe he wouldn't feel it with the bandage in the way?

Within seconds he jumped back, his eyes wide. "I felt it! I felt our baby kick!" he cried out and Elena laughed and she felt the baby kick again. He moved his head in closer to hers and rubbed his nose with his wife's. "I love you so much Elena, so much."

Elena smiled at him, overwhelmed at how happy she was and kissed the tip of his nose. "I love you too, Salvatore." She moved his hand back where she felt more kicks. Lily put her hand down on her moms belly too and soon she was squealing about feeling her brother kick her. I guess Kat wasn't the only one already assuming it would be a boy.

Elena leaned her head to Damon's and closed her eyes. His arm went around her shoulder and cradled her head. Elena saw Lumpy was laying on the floor and she bent to pick it up. Passing her daughter's camel to her. Lily shook her head.

"I don't need him Momma. I have Daddy right here like he said. It's the best birthday gift ever! Just like I asked for. I told Daddy I didn't want presents...just him and I got my wish!"

Elena looked at the clock and did not even realize it was after midnight, they had flown through a bunch of time zones and here they were with Damon, who she thought she would never see again and on their big girl's birthday too!

Yes, this was all she could ever wish for.

Lily looked up at her mom. "I know I can't tell time but I asked the nurse lady if it was tomorrow yet and she said it was, so it is my birthday then right? I am 5 years old?" Both her parents nodded at her and Lily curled up against Damon's chest as the two smiling parents sang their daughter Happy Birthday. Lily yawned and smiled saying she was so tired. All the traveling must have caught up to her and to Elena's surprise she was asleep in barely a minute on Damon's lap.

Elena chuckled. "I guess being 5 was hard work." Damon laughed too and winced a bit that laughing hurt his stitches.

She could still not believe how different everything looked, only a half a day ago back in Nashville. There she was, ready to head to Florida on an all expense paid trip for kids that have parents lost in the war. She was planning on moving back home and having her mom help her raise the baby and Lily and try to move on with her life when her heart felt missing.

Now she had gotten back everything she had been mourning so deeply for. Elena closed her eyes, feeling more tears. Damon saw her crying and lifted his hand to caress her face again. "Everything is going to be okay Elena...I promise."

She lay curled up on her side, her belly against Lily asleep in his arms, her head on the pillow beside him turned toward her. "Damon, is Stefan...?" She didn't know if she wanted to ask but as far as she knew Kat lost her husband too and Elena had to ask, for her sister.

Before she could put any more thoughts in her head into words, Damon shook his head, tears at his lashes. "No, he didn't make it. He was crushed by the rocks in the cave in trying to get us out. When the building collapsed we were totally sealed in under the rocks. The whole main floor fell sideways, part of it still solid and angled so it gave me some shelter as the rocks crashed down. But Stefan was trapped too far away and up closer to the surface without any protection from the falling cement and wood beams. He was so close to the hole that they had dug to get us out."

Elena saw him sniffle and she brushed her hand over his face, wiping the tears away.

Damon looked lost in his story and Elena was quiet letting him talk. "I knew he was dying babe. Hell, he knew it too and we both saw he had internal injuries from the rocks crushing him. He had been choking and coughing bad and with only the one flashlight between us I saw he was coughing up blood.

But he begged me to be able to see Kat one last time and I saw the rocks had been crushing his chest and he could not reach her picture in his pocket. So I passed him my picture of you guys and me since Kat and you were twins he said he was so grateful to see her one more time. He reached his other hand out and I gave him my dog tags too when he said that he might be able to push his other hand above the rocks. We were trying to figure out some way to let people know we were still alive under there."

Elena listened, wide eyed and rubbed her hand up and down his arm as he talked. He was here, safe and sound with his family now so however scary his story to get back to them was, she was going to be brave enough to take it in. She didn't have to live it but she was damn well going to be there for him in any way he needed her.

Damon swallowed slowly and closed his eyes.

This had to be hard for him, she thought. He had been there when his brother had died? She could not imagine that kind of pain.

"Damon, honey, you don't have to share it all tonight. You need to rest."

He was shaking his head. "No I need to get this out. I haven't told anyone yet and I _need_ to Elena."

She nodded and let him continue.

"I shined the light at him enough for him to see you and imagine his Katherine as I heard him start gasping for air. I was sure his whole chest was crushed and it wasn't going to be long and I was going to be alone down there to die. I hadn't felt anything damaged except my arm. When we fell I protected a little boy as we ran from the building, tumbling down into the basement. I felt something crash into my arm and I couldn't move it much after. But Stefan gasped out that he could almost feel the empty air around his hand that he had forced the picture and my dog tags up past the rocks."

He had more tears in his eyes now and Elena moved in closer kissing them away, tasting the saltiness on her tongue.

Pain flooded his beautiful eyes as he spoke. "His last words to me were that he knew somehow I was going to get out of there. I had a baby on the way and a beautiful daughter and wife at home.

As he spoke he had been smashing the rocks with his free hand above him and his boots as hard as he could. I could hear them shifting again more. He screamed out that I wasn't going to die here and then the rocks fell burying him in them as they rained down all around me huddled in under the side of the cement floor."

"Oh my God Damon, I am so sorry," Elena held his head, stroking her fingers in his hair. "I can't imagine what you were feeling."

"I had my eyes closed so tight and just thought it would all be over in a moment. But I was alive and I could still breathe, barely, but I could breathe." He moved his bandaged hand to stroke it down her cheek now and Elena closed her eyes at how amazing his touch felt again.

"I wanted to die and just have it over...but then I remembered my promise to you, the last time we talked when you were so scared, baby."

She remembered… and felt the tears start to slip down her cheeks again.

"I promised you I would be strong for the both of us. And I meant that Elena, with all my heart and soul I meant that and I could not leave you. I was going to be strong for you, for Lily and our little 'us'. I had to get the hell out of there.

And I could not believe it but when I opened my eyes I saw a hole in the rocks on the other side of the roof and light shining down. I took one more look at my brother and said goodbye as I dragged my bruised leg and used my good arm and pulled myself up the rocks and to the surface. I made it out of there just like Stefan said I would."

Elena nodded and a sob broke through her lips. "You did. You came back to us."

Damon nodded back and kissed her tears too. "I did. But when I crawled out of there I could barely stand and I think I blacked out. I remember wandering down the street and seeing lights ahead of me thinking it was the army. But next thing I was in the back of a vehicle with a hood over my head and I felt my hands and feet tied. I could hear the voices in front of me speaking low but couldn't make anything out. We drove for hours it seemed and then I was tossed in a room and they kept all of us in the dark. I stayed there till the army raided the compound we were in and found us all there weeks later."

He sniffled and bent his head to kiss their sleeping daughters dark hair and looked back up at her. "All that matters is that I'm back Elena. Really. I got so lucky, only having such minor injuries. Being held captive with no medical care for weeks, if anything had been any worse I don't even want to know what could have happened."

Elena saw how tired he looked as he gazed back at her, his baby blue eyes starting to fall closed. "Just sleep Damon. I am right here." She bent to pull his bottom lip in her mouth and kissed him softly. "It's my turn to be strong for both of us. Let me be strong for you and you just rest and relax. Lily and I are right here."

He smiled weakly, his eyes so handsome even at half mast as he gave her a crooked smile. Elena moved around and lifted his hand back to her belly once more and he smiled more, his eyes falling closed. "I love feeling him kick. Its amazing..." And then he was asleep.

Elena gazed down at her husband, moving a strand of his raven hair from his eyes. She gently scooped Lily off of his lap and Elena saw a huge recliner in the corner of the room. Laying their daughter down she asked for help to move the chair right up beside Damon's bed and an orderly assisted her right away. She laid down, curling up as close to Damon as she could and Lily curled up on her other side all tucked up with her camo blankie and Elena put her camel in under her arm.

She looked back over at the love of her life and he looked so peaceful, a soft smile on his face. She moved her arm to find his hand and laid her palm in his as she closed her eyes.

* * *

 _Three months later…_

The sky was so so clear, not a cloud in the almost night sky as the stars shone so brightly.

"Oh I see another one!" Lily called out. "That's the little dripper, right Daddy?"

Damon laughed deep in his throat as he pointed up to the sky and leaned his head closer to their daughter's. "No, Lily bear, that is the Little Dipper. A dipper, like a scoop. See the handle on the end?" He pointed it out and Lily nodded more.

"Oh, okay I think I see it Daddy. Just like the bigger one with the handle?"

Elena laughed and saw them snuggled close on the blanket. Lily was laying between them, pointing excitedly at the stars.

"Show me more!" she called out. "Is there another fun one?"

Elena laughed and listened to them talking about the stars and she snuggled in closer to Damon's head, leaning in for a kiss above Lily's head. They were laying on the ice, on a soft wool blanket as Elena watched her husband laughing and tickling their big girl.

She felt her belly start tightening as she curled her body in on her side and bit her bottom lip. It had been doing that a lot lately and they had even gone into the hospital on two false alarms. She was only a few days late of her due date but was so ready for this little one to make their appearance.

Damon saw instantly when she cringed in pain. "Elena? Are you okay. More contractions? Do we need to go?" He sat up and moved closer, spreading his palm over her shirt. He looked up fast back at her face. "Oh my goodness baby, that feels like your belly is a solid rock."

Elena was nodding, feeling the tightening get worse before it faded. It might just be Braxton hicks but man it was hard to breath for a bit there. She didn't want to leave yet. This was the last week the ice would still be here before their special place would be closed for the year again.

Damon had just gotten his cast off and everything was healing nicely and this was the first time in awhile they had been able to come here and enjoy the peace of the ice rink. They knew life would be more than busy with the new baby soon.

Her husband had been amazing, coming to birthing classes and practicing her breathing with her. He had rubbed her back and her feet whenever he could, tucked Lily in and laid and read her stories till she fell asleep. He stayed up late talking to the baby and Elena had just watched him laying at her stomach and telling the baby all about this new world they would soon be a part of.

He had been promised no more overseas tours and had been given a medal of honor for saving those children and teacher from the building. There was a ceremony that Elena and Lily had been front row for, so proud of him. He retired to teaching only and Elena could not be more excited that he was never going back in harms way again.

She nodded now, her palm on her belly as the contraction went back down. Damon's sweet look of concern was precious and she was so excited to be sharing this whole experience with him this time.

They had just been to Stefan's grave last week, Ric's too and she had brought a fresh bouquet of flowers to lay at each head stone. Ric's girlfriend Jenna moved off the base and back home right away after hearing of his death. Katherine stayed at their parents and Elena visited her when they got back from Germany, a few weeks after she had gotten the news that Damon was alive.

Katherine had been such an amazing sister and was so happy for her and Lily even finding out that Stefan had not come back with Damon. She had said that she would be okay and would visit often and was so happy that Damon would be there for the birth of his son. She kept insisting it was a boy, just like Lily and even Damon had said too but Elena wasn't so sure.

Katherine had been pursuing social work in college and now had decided she wanted to specialize in grief counseling and started a support group for widows in their mom and dad's hometown as she continued her schooling closer to home. Elena was so proud of how strong she was being and had shared with her sister that Stefan had saved Damon's life at the end and Kat had cried in her arms thanking her for telling her.

Elena was nodding that maybe they should head to the hospital again and felt another contraction pull tighter and tighter as she almost cried out at the pain.

"Elena, you might be in labor. We need to go." Damon held out his hand, his voice stern and she knew he was right. Lily jumped up so excited about the baby. Elena reached out and Damon pulled her gently to her feet. She felt like a whale, she was so big by now.

Just then she felt wetness and looked down seeing her jeans start darkening as she felt a small gush from standing up. "Oh my goodness! It IS time! I think my water just broke!"

Damon looked down and then back up at her worried face. "Hey sweetheart. I'm right here. You will be just fine." He pulled her into his arms and held her close. Stepping back he cupped her face and kissed her as Lily pulled on his arm to be let up. He bent to scoop her into his arms too and Elena looked at him, scared for what was to come. She felt another contraction really pull tight and she whimpered out in pain.

They had brought the car and parked it right outside the rink and Damon helped her quickly into her door and buckled her in. He got Lily in her car seat and sat back in the drivers seat. Turning his head to his wife she was cringing again, holding her belly.

"Damon?" she cried out. "I know you are excited..and I am so excited that you get to experience this with me but I'm scared honey. I really am.."

Damon shushed her, kissing her tenderly. "It's going to be okay Elena." He rubbed his nose to hers and she smiled. "I'm going to strong enough for the both of us."

He brought out a sprig of mistletoe and held it up over their heads in the car. She was beaming and almost in tears but she wasn't sure if it was from pain or happiness. She was so happy he had come back to her. It felt unreal to be this happy.

Elena grabbed his face and kissed him hard, focusing on everything about him and not the pain. They could do this...they could do anything...together..

* * *

A few hours later they were holding their brand new baby...girl. They had all been wrong and she arrived screaming her little lungs out till she was laid on her mom's chest. Elena looked up at Damon with tears in her eyes. He leaned in and kissed her as they looked down in awe at their precious little baby. He had been an amazing coach and such a support through the whole night.

Damon looked back at her as they both kissed the soft head of their baby. She had chocolate brown hair and bright baby blue eyes. Damon picked the name Holly for all the memories of Christmas and mistletoe.

So little Miss Holly Faith joined the Salvatore family and Lily was brought in and bounded up on the bed to see her little sister and kissed her so, so gently.

Elena smiled through her tears when Damon picked up the little pink bundle and rocked her to sleep in his arms. His eyes were shining and his smile so wide back at her.

Everything was perfect. She had gotten her Christmas miracle, her husband back in her arms and healthy beautiful girls that would have a daddy to love them their whole lives.

Christmas would always be the most special time of the year for Elena. She treasured all the memories they made and was excited to experience more precious moments with her husband and sweet girls in the future. They had been though so much to get where they were and she was determined to never let him go again.

The End

* * *

 **I hope you made it to the end to see that it was a happily ever after story. I got the idea from a new article about the Snowball Express and The Gary Sinise Foundation.**

 **1,722 participants went on the trip this year, including hundreds of kids from 650 families. Snowball Express started in 2006 and aims to create a 5 day experience for the families that is fun and inspiring and therapeutic, In 2017 the Snowball Express became an official Gary Sinise Foundation program.**

 **The foundation also builds adaptive homes for disabled veteran, hosts free theater nights for veterans and helps pay for training and equipment for first responders.**

 **Airports got in on the festivities as well. The Killeen Airport, a familiar location for service members deployed through Fort Hood Texas welcomed the Snowball Express participants and man in a Santa costume met the families.**

 **In Nashville, where I had my story take place, other travelers stopped what they were doing and held a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. U.S. troops stood at attention and saluted as the song was performed. There were many tears as bystanders honored the fallen soldiers.**

 **I hope you still enjoyed the story. My intent was to tug on your emotions and have you scared for him and in shock that he was gone and experience the relief like Elena felt when she was told Damon was alive. Even in following the Snowball Express story I could not make it a tragedy. I am not brave enough to write that yet and so I hope it made sense how he survived.**

 **It was a huge honor to watch my daughter read this story and see the emotions on her face and tell me after that she had not cried like that for even any published books she has read. That was all I set out to do was emotionally touch you and I hope you did enjoy my little Christmas story.**

 **Special thanks to Carol for the beautiful cover and for prereading for me too. You are the best.**

 **Please do review and tell me what you thought. I tried something new, no dark backstories, or things happening fast. But more in a time line of life events, going back and forth from the past to present which I had never done before.**

 **Thanks for your support in my writing and I am excited for another year of giving you more delicious DE stories to enjoy!**


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